


The Case of the Devilishly Handsome Criminal Mastermind

by RoyalRampionEngineer



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternative Universe - FBI, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2018-09-17 03:16:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9301616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyalRampionEngineer/pseuds/RoyalRampionEngineer
Summary: After getting caught escaping from prison, expert con artist Carswell Thorne strikes a deal with FBI Agent Linh: he helps the FBI solve cases and in exchange they don't send him back to prison. Catching other con artists seems easy enough, but nothing could have prepared Thorne for the real deal: cute tech personnel, scheming business owners, and too many missing objects.





	1. Case 1: Back in the Game

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This story is based off the TV show White Collar. I started watching the show and couldn’t get the imagine of Neal as Thorne out of my head. Thanks for reading, please review, and enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own the Lunar Chronicles or White Collar.

Really, they were asking for it, Thorne thought as he sat across from—what had she called herself? Special Agent Linh? Yeah, that sounded right—and had his genius spelled out in succinct sentences for him. 

“Carswell Thorne, former Cadet in the American Military. Rumored to have stolen a million dollars’ worth of priceless goods, including Venezuelan Dolls, a Diamond necklace, and the crown jewels of a small island nation. Convicted of stealing a Class 11.3, 214 Military Rampion and sentenced to six years in high security prison. Now tell me, Mr. Thorne, why did to decide to escape?” 

“Call me Thorne. Mr. Thorne is my father, and Thorne is what all my friends call me.” 

“We are not friends Mr. Thorne.”

Thorne grinned at Agent Linh and stuck his boots up on the corner of the table, “You sure do seem to know a lot about me without being my friend. You’ve done your stalking well. Perhaps you’d like to skip right to lovers?” He gave her a wink. 

She did not seem amused. Perhaps his charm had faded a bit after a year in prison. Or maybe he was just not her type. It was probably the latter, since he was, you know, Carswell Thorne, Devilishly Handsome Criminal Mastermind. 

Agent Linh finally opened a manila folder on the desk between them. She pulled out three different photos. “Mr. Thorne, I am going to ask you questions, and you are going to answer them truthfully and professionally.”

“Aye aye captain,” Thorne saluted Agent Linh. She did not smile back. 

“At 12:33, you exited the cafeteria early from lunch, complaining about a stomach ache. A guard escorted you to the sick bay, where you knocked him out using the doctor’s stool. You stole his clothes, and walked back to the cafeteria, where you waited outside the doors, your back to the security cameras focused on the entrance to the cafeteria. Correct?” Agent Linh slid a photo of the back of a guard with an ill-fitting uniform on, along with one of an unconscious guard stripped down to his underpants in the sick bay. 

“Wow, Miss Linh. You really did your homework. I knew you had it bad for me.”

“Will you please answer the question?”

“Only if you stop showing me that picture of the guard. I do not need to see that tragedy again.”

“Then at 1:42, you escorted the other prisoners to outdoor time, where you sauntered out the doors of the prison, telling the other guards you needed a smoke break.” At that, Agent Lihn showed Thorne the last photo, this one of him obviously winking at the security camera. One of his finer ideas, Thorne had to admit. 

“Why am I here, if you already know everything?” Thorne asked.

“We need your confirmation.”

“You have all the confirmation you need right there, Miss Linh. Look at these beauties, do you think any other devilishly handsome criminal mastermind could pull this off?”

“You would be surprised how many other people I have encountered that could do what you did.”

Thorne gave her a huge grin, with dimples and all. “So you do admit I’m devilishly handsome?”

“So you admit that you escaped a high security prison, accept the fact that one of our tech personnel spotted you escaping and was able to alert the prison to apprehend you, and agree to the two extra years you will have to serve as punishment?”

Thorne held up his hands, “Woah Miss Lihn, let’s not start throwing accusations out here. I admit that I did evade my cell, but two more years? C’mon,” Thorne shook out his sleeves, then put his hands behind his head. “Doesn’t that seem a bit excessive?”

“You escaped a high security prison Mr. Thorne, not to mention you assaulted a prison guard. I think the punishment speaks for itself.”

“Yeah, but, I barely got past the gates! I had like twelve steps of freedom!” 

If he wasn’t mistaken, Agent Lihn was sporting a bit of a smirk, “Our tech personal are excellent, as you must have noticed. You actually owe them. If you had gone a mile away, it would have been three years.”

Thorne gave a groan, tilting his head back, “If I had gotten a mile away, I wouldn’t be setting here. I would be in the Bahamas, a fruity drink in my hand and sandals on my feet.” 

“I’m sorry for your loss Mr. Thorne. Now, why did you escape prison after a year of perfect behavior?”

“Did you not just hear my comment about the Bahamas?”

“Mr. Thorne.”

“You want the truth?” Thorne stated, sitting up straight and putting his elbows on the table. “I was bored.”

“Bored?” Agent Lihn repeated, her eyebrows scrunching together. 

“Yeah, bored. You must realize, Miss Linh, that I am used to being in situations that test my intellectual capacity and my physical prowess. Sitting in a barred cell does not exactly fill those requirements.” 

“You escaped prison because you were bored and thought it would be fun? Am I hearing you correctly?”

Thorne gave her a cheeky wink, “I’ll let you decide that for yourself.” 

“I thought you said you would be professional.”

“Being a professional liar is one of my many great skills.”

“Mr. Thorne, please stop wasting my time. You are not my only case that needs attention.”

“Really? Maybe if you share the details, I can help you solve your other cases. I am a devilishly handsome criminal mastermind.”

“Absolutely not,” Agent Linh stated, grabbing her papers and making to stand up.

“C’mon, you could give me a nice suit and some cool sunglasses, and I could go undercover with a briefcase full of cash to trade with the criminal. Then I could apprehend the con artist, since you know, I do know how to think like one.”

“And then you would make a clean get away with the cash and send a postcard of you in the Bahamas to the FBI office.”

Thorne grinned, “You know me too well Miss Linh.”

“Causality of reading through all your files in preparation of catching you.”

“Did the files mention how devilishly handsome I am?”

Agent Linh seemed to ignore him as she walked toward the door. “You’ll be in contact with our lawyers about your extended stay in prison. I suggest not escaping again if you want a shorter sentence.”

Thorne just smiled at her, “And to think Miss Linh, you claimed to know me.”

…

“Coffee?”

“Yes,” Cinder sighed into the proffered mug. “Thank you.”

“No problem. After all, what are boyfriends for?” Kai smiled, taking up a spot across the kitchen table from Cinder. “Rough day at work?”

“You’ve no idea. Carswell Thorne decided to escape from prison this morning, another house was raided this afternoon, and tonight I got a call from one of the officers that our lead on the Torin Case had gone cold.”

“Well, at least you didn’t have to deal with angry nitpicky elderly people who complain about the buttons on their shirts not being the right size.”

“I’m pretty sure you just described something Carswell Thorne would do.”

“Did he really try to escape prison?”

“Try? That cocky kid did escape.” 

“Why?” 

“Because he was bored.”

Kai laughed, taking a sip of his own hot chocolate. “That was the reason why he broke out?”

“The only one I could get out of him.”

“You know, I kind of want to meet this guy.” Kai slowly leaned back in his chair. “See if he actually exists as you tell me.”

“You don’t believe me?” Cinder glared at him over her mug of coffee.

“No, I just don’t believe the things Thorne does. He’s like one of those people you need to see to believe.” 

“Says the youngest CEO of Emperor Clothing Corps.”

Kai pointed, “Hey, you promised not to use that against me at home! I just want to be a normal guy, with a cute girlfriend, and without an entire company resting on my shoulders.”

“Fine, fine,” Cinder replied, but they were both smiling at each other, their cheeks a tad pink. “Stars, even thinking about Thorne gives me a headache.”

“Can’t blame you. The guy seems crazy.”

“Crazy annoying. He kept complaining he was bored. The guy’s in prison for stars’ sake, and he escapes because there’s not enough excitement. If it’s that boring, I would like to go to prison. I could use a bit less exciting in my life.”

“You’re preaching to the choir babe.”

Cinder gave a glare to Kai. “Don’t call me that. It’s weird.” Kai’s eyes crinkled. 

“Love you…baby?”

Cinder snorted as he placer her empty mug next to the sink. “Keep trying.” She turned, placing her hands on the sink lip. “Why can’t he just be happy with what he has? An easy life, tucked away, never having to worry about money.”

“He’s a con artist. Literally, he takes things, and turns them into profit. No wonder he’s bored having everyone do everything for him. Maybe you should slacken his chain a bit.”

“Slacken his chain? You’re talking about the man who let a tiger escape from a zoo, just to impress a girl, with nothing but a pressed penny from the gift shop and a charming smile. You give him anything, he’ll find a way to use it to his advantage. He said so himself today when he suggested the FBI let him help solve cases.”

“Did he really ask that?”

“Oh yeah, wanted sunglasses and everything.” Kai got up, refilling Cinder’s mug and then his own. 

“Actually, he might be on to something.”

“What?” Cinder asked, turning her body to look at him, arms crossed.

“Maybe you should take him up on his offer? You just said you were stuck on the case, and he wants something challenging. His criminal mind could catch something you overlooked.”

“One, there’s no way the Bureau would ever allow that. And two, are you insane? Thorne’s a crazy genius. He would play us all like pawns.”

“Not if you restricted his movement. Track him, keep 24-hour surveillance on him, never let his leash get longer than what you can control.”

“Kai that’s-” 

“Brilliant?”

“Impossible.” Cinder deadpanned. “Thorne would never stand for our demands.”

“How do you know for sure? You’re giving him what he wants.” Kai ticked off the points on his hand. “A challenging job, freedom, no more staying in prison, and the ability to do what he’s good at. And you get help solving cases. Win-win.”

“It would never work. You’re just saying this because you want to see the Carswell Thorne in action.”

“Okay, maybe a little bit, but just think about the possibilities you would have with someone with his contacts on your side.”

“Kai, you do know our sources of information have to be legal, right?”

“They could give you anonymous tips!”

“Now you’re really stretching it. Kai, it’s not going to happen. Thorne is just too unpredictable. His history speaks for itself.”

“Why don’t you have Cress run one of those special searches on him, like the one you asked for when you started dating me? See if she runs across anything.”

“You were just a cute guy who came up and asked me out while I was getting coffee! Can you blame me for using FBI resources to check your background?”

“Hey, if that’s what I have to go through to get a date with the prettiest girl in New Beijing, I’ll allow it.” Kai gave her a grin, and the blush that came was automatic. “Now why don’t you think about the idea while I take you out to dinner?”

…

“Agent Darnel? Hey? Cress?” Cinder peeked around the door. The poor girl looked like she had spent the night in her office. Cinder counted three different energy drinks, one large tea container, and she was pretty sure Cress was wearing that dress yesterday.

“Cress, did you sleep at the office again?”

“I-no. Maybe? What time is it again?”

“Eight a.m. on Tuesday.”

“Um, yes, I may have slept at the office again. Sorry.”

“I thought you were going home after you finished looking into the baker’s financial records?”

“Well, I was, but then I finished doing that, and I couldn’t find anything unusual. So I went back to the owner of the company, and started looking at his search history, but got nothing. That made me angry, so I started playing mahjong to cool down. After a couple rounds of that, I realized I should go through each employee’s record, looking for anomalies, and cross-referencing with our criminal’s profile, and I found a few hits, so I started looking deeper, and well…” Cress half spun in her chair. “I guess it got kinda late?”

“Cress, you can’t just sleep at the office. It isn’t good for you.”

Cress waved a hand, turning back to her computer. “I’m okay. You wanna look at the list of suspicious employees? See if anything stands out to you?”

Cinder sighed, running a hand over her ponytail. “What I want is for you to go home, take a shower and a nap, then come back this afternoon.”

“I’m okay. All I need is some more-“ Cress stretched her hands above her head and yawned. “-caffeine.” 

“Cress, really, you’ll work better if you are rested. I need you to look into a project for me. It can wait until this afternoon.”

“I’ve been sleeping for four hours. I’ve survived on less. What project is it?” She looked instantly more alert and excited.

“Cress…”

“Did somebody call for caffeine?” said a new voice as a stunning girl with blue hair sashayed her way into the office. 

“Iko!” both girls shouted.

“I come bearing gifts!” Iko pronounced. “A large coffee with a hint of cream for Cinder, and a five-hour energy for Cress.” 

“Thank you thank you!” Cress said, downing the little bottle. 

“Thanks Iko,” Cinder sighed as she wrapped her hands around the mug. 

“So, how is the smartest tech personal in the world and my partner in crime this beautiful morning?” Iko asked, making herself at home in one of the office chairs.

“Cress spent the night here again.”

Iko tsked. “Cress, girl, we have got to get you a life. Maybe I’ll make you get coffee tomorrow, and you can run into your own Kai,” Iko said with a wink at her best friend. Cinder nudged Iko with her elbow. 

“If only,” Cress sighed, spinning around in her desk chair to face the two. 

“What about Julian from the BAU? He’s pretty cute,” Iko pronounced.

Cress wrinkled her nose. “He’s so…stoic?”

“Tall, dark, strong, and handsome. What’s not to like?”

“I dunno, he’s always so serious. It’s kinda scary.” 

Iko have a huff, then turned to Cinder. “Kai have any friends you can set her up with?”

“Besides the old men on the board of directors? No. He doesn’t have time to make actual friends.”

“Iko’s New To-Do List: one, find Cress a man and a life. Two, find Kai a life that doesn’t involve board meetings. Three, Cinder, do you have anything you need me to do for you?”

Cinder gave a little laugh, “Nope, this coffee was good enough, thanks Iko. You’re the best.”

Iko gave a flip of her hair. “I know. So besides talking about cute men, what’s our plans for today?”

“Uh, actually, I have a special project I need Cress to work on for me.”

“What did Kai do this time?”

Cinder rolled her eyes. “He gave me this horrible idea.”

“Now I’m really intrigued.” Iko gave Cinder a little ‘go-ahead’ wave. “You can’t hold out on us. It’s practically girl code that you are obligated to tell us.”

Cinder sighed, leaning back in her chair and addressing Cress. “What do you know about Carswell Thorne?” 

“Carswell Thorne?” Cress squeaked out. “He just escaped from prison. Uh,” Cress turned back to her computer and pulled up a few tabs. “He’s a master con artist. Internationally known, caught by you a year ago.”

“Yeah, I know that stuff.” Cress turned to Cinder, her eyes wide. Cinder continued, “What about his personal life? I want to you compile everything about Carswell Thorne that isn’t in the official FBI files. I want everything he’s hiding. Precious jewels, past girlfriends, nervous habits, the things that make him tick. Can I have it by lunch?”

“Uh,” Cress said, wringing her hands before unlocking a drawer in her desk. “You can have it now?”

Cinder took the out held file without a word and began flipping through it. Sure enough, it was all there. Carswell Thorne’s life laid out in black and white lines and way too many photos of him winking at the camera. 

“Do you do this extra research for every case we take on?” Cinder asked, not looking up from the file, missing the blush creeping up Cress’s neck. 

“Just the special ones.”

“And the hot ones,” Iko grinned, looking over Cinder’s shoulder. 

“No! I mean, you were chasing him for so long I thought it would be good to know about him and well, I just kept it all in case you needed it again. And you did! So it’s okay!” The blush just crept up further. 

“Is there any pictures where he isn’t winking?” Cinder grumbled.

“It’s kinda his signature move,” Cress softly said, hiding behind her chair. 

“Yeah, Kai’s insane. I’m insane. This plan is not going to work, it’s not worth it. I can’t work with him.” 

“Work with him?” Iko stared straight at Cinder. “What are you talking about?”

“Thorne keeps complaining about how he isn’t challenged enough and we’re stuck on the Torin case, so Kai suggested we have Thorne as a consultant on the case. Even though you have some suspects Cress, it would really help knowing how the criminal did the job. A con artist helping to catch other con artists. It made sense over the chocolate cake last night, but now there’s no way.”

“That’s actually...an amazing idea!” Iko squealed. “If you can make sure he wouldn’t escape.”

“That’s what this was,” Cinder held up the file, “Leverage. But it doesn’t matter now, because it isn’t going to happen.” 

“I know you have your reservations, but getting an insider’s perspective would be really nice. Maybe do a trial run first? Pull up a solved case, see how fast he can solve it. If he does well, it’ll help you get the bureau on your side and show how worthwhile it would be.” Cress fidgeted with the ends of her hair.

“Okay, that sounds reasonable. But it still doesn’t solve how we keep him contained.”

“I can check into some FBI equipment,” Cress stated, then pointed at the file. “And I know one thing in there that Thorne will do anything to protect.”

“A girl?” 

Cress grinned, “Better.”

…

Thorne was really starting to hate prison. For one, the coffee was atrocious. It was as if they purposefully tried to brew him the worst coffee cup in the world. Then there was the dress code. If there was one color he didn’t look good in, it was orange. Sure, the living quarters were subpar and his inmates weren’t exactly warm and fuzzy, but nothing compared to the soap. It was disgusting, the final straw! He had tried to start a movement to stop the low-quality soap from being used, but as he was still using the soap, you can see how that turned out.

So Thorne was more than pleased when Agent Linh came to talk to him again. Perhaps a few more charming words and he could convince her to see his side. If nothing else, surely she had the power to get him some high-quality soap. 

“Miss Linh, how lovely to see you again. What brings you back to my humble abode?”

“I have a proposition for you.”

“Really now? Miss Linh, you are starting to become my favorite FBI agent.” Thorne watched her as she sat down, file in hand and elbow on table.

Agent Linh looked Thorne dead in the eye. “How serious were you when you asked to help solve cases?” 

Okay then. He did not expect those words to come out of her mouth. His day really was looking up. “I am always serious Miss Linh. Especially when it comes to a cool pair of sunglasses.” 

Cinder rested her forehead on her palm then breathed out deeply. She finally opened the file, laying several pieces of paper in front of Thorne. For once, Thorne was happy to note, the papers seemed to have nothing to do with him. A close up of an emerald, blueprints to a house, a certificate of authenticity, and a portrait of a woman. Very interesting.

“Mrs. Channary, owner of FIrehardened Makeup Company, woke up one summer morning, put on her favorite emerald broach, and went to a jewelry store around the corner to shop for a new watch. While browsing, the owner of the shop noticed her broach and asked to take a look at such a beautiful piece of jewelry. The owner quickly noticed the broach was a fake. Only three weeks ago, Mrs. Channary had it appraised and confirmed as real. She was the only person with access to her apartment, no cleaning services and no utility workers had come into her apartment. The broach was on her person at all times. How was the real broach stolen?” 

“Is this some sort of game? Don’t get me wrong, I love playing games, but this is weird, even for the FBI.”

“The FBI wants to test your skills before they take you out into the real world. If you want that pair of sunglasses, I suggest you take this seriously.”

“Yes madam!” Thorne gave her a quick salute, then bent over the photo of the emerald. “Nice forgery. Definitely not an amateur. You said stolen, so can I assume the appraisalist wasn’t working for the bad guys and gave a false reading?” Cinder nodded. “The forger used the dye method on the stone, really not bad.”

“Dye method?”

Thorne looked up at her. “Do they not teach you about jewel forgery in FBI school?”

“They teach us how to catch those who know about jewel forgery.”

Thorne gave her a grin, “Touché. The forger used a cheap stone, probably topaz, by the looks of this, and using some chemistry techniques, he dyed the stone the color of an emerald. Simple and cheap, but effective. Whoever did this isn’t rich, which eliminates the window and roof as a point of entry. The target’s on the top floor, and scaling equipment is expensive. Not that I’ve ever, you know, looked into it. Is there an elevator in the building?”

“Two actually. One for civilians, one for maintenance.”

“Do any reach to the roof? Or require a key card?”

“Only the maintenance elevator reaches to the roof. Neither require identification for entry. The civilian has a member of the staff in it at all times and goes from the first floor to the top floor, and the maintenance can only be reached from the basement after employees have clocked in for work.”

Thorne scoffed, “And people think this building is secure. Our person of interest entered the apartment as a normal civilian. He walked in with a tenant and took the stairs to the basement, getting his maintenance worker groove on. Due to fire codes, it’s illegal to lock stairways and not have stairways reach every floor, so he could slip right in to the basement from the ground floor. From there he could catch the maintenance elevator up to the roof, and enter Mrs. Channary’s apartment through the heating ducts, as it’s summer and no one is using them.” Thorne pointed at the blueprint where the ducts entered her room. Cinder nodded, and Thorne kept going.

“Normally, there are only three times during a day that a person will take off precious jewelry: at night, when showering, and when going through metal detectors. Since you specifically told me details about the apartment, we’ll rule out that last one. Where does the broach go at night?”

“In a safe under her nightstand. Garan Manufacturing with fingerprint identification and a twelve-digit access code.”

Thorne gave a low whistle, “The woman knows how to buy a safe. So our thief didn’t steal it at night, because no one in their right mind wants to crack a Garan safe if he can help it. Which leaves showering. I’m guessing she showers in the morning, as 70% percent of the population does. The emerald is no doubt still in the case until she gets dressed for the day, which means our thief needed to create an instance in which she had to shower unexpectedly. Did it rain any time during the three weeks?”

“Down poured for an entire Tuesday.” Cinder gave a small smile. So he was right. Of course he was. Carswell Thorne was never wrong. “Nice job, time for a hint. Mrs. Channary had a board meeting every week day from 10 to 11:30 am.”

Thorne gave her a lazy grin. “You’re making this too easy Miss Linh. How’d she normally get home? Private driver?”

“He was unexpectedly sick that day. Bad sushi the night before.” 

“Of course. Taxi?” Thorne pulled the picture closer. “No, she’s too classy for that. I bet she called a driving service.”

“She got an ad for a new company just the day before.”

“Of course she did. So our criminal picked her up in his driving service, had unexpected car trouble, and made his client walk a couple blocks back to her apartment, in which time her impeccably done hair was completely ruined. Now, one’s hair cannot come back from the rain with that much hairspray in it. Trust me, I’ve been there. Bad night in LA, don’t ask. So she goes home, no doubt she’s a busy woman, has another meeting right after, and has to get back to professional-looking fast. She throws her clothes with the emerald broach somewhere, showers fast so she has time to make herself presentable again before her meeting with a new client. Or in other words our thief’s accomplice. The water masks the sound of the thief climbing around the heating ducts, and it’s an easy switch and grab.” Thorne grinned, leaning back in his chair, hands clasped behind head. “So, how’d I do?”

“How did you know the thief set up the meeting?”

“Conning 101: You only let one element go to chance, zero if you can. The rain was the big element, but it’s summer in New York. Odds were favorable. So of course the thief set up a meeting a short time after her board meeting was over with. He had to get her crunched for time.”

Cinder took the papers, a slight frown on her face. “You solved in three minutes what it took the FBI three days to solve.”

“What can I say? I’m a natural.” Thorne gave her a wink. She got up and began to leave. “Miss Linh?”

“What?” She turned back to him.

“You’ve got me curious. Who actually did it?”

“Oh, it was the jewelry shop’s owner’s son. He saw the appraisal of the emerald with his dad, and how much it was worth. Was tired of seeing all these rich clients walk over his dad. Classic revenge scheme.”

“Ah, should have seen that one coming. You didn’t tell me the jeweler had a son.”

“You didn’t need to know.”

“Miss Linh, if we are going to begin working together, I can’t have you holding out information on me. It just isn’t professional.”

If he wasn’t mistaken, Agent Linh rolled her eyes as she slammed the door shut. “Goodbye Mr. Thorne.”

He grinned. Oh man, would this be fun.

The next morning, Thorne woke up to a pair of black professional sunglasses sitting on his desk.


	2. Case 2: Torin Shipping Industries

“Miss Linh, do these sunglasses make my muscles look even sexier?” Thorne asked, flexing. He was currently being detained in an FBI conference room, but hey, he wasn’t wearing orange, so he wasn’t complaining. 

“It’s Agent Linh to you.” Cinder stated, walking around the table to face Thorne. “You’re now a part of my team, as much as it pains me to say that. You have to show me the proper respect.”

“Mi-Agent Linh, I think you underestimate me. I’ve always respected you. Any person who could catch the Devilishly Handsome Carswell Thorne twice is deserving of respect.” 

“Really, the second time was thanks to my tech personnel. I can’t take all of the credit.”

“Speaking of, I would like to have some words with your tech personnel.”

Cinder raised her eyebrow, holding down a smirk. “Words?”

“While what they’ve did is quite impressive, I’ve got to thank them for my missed trip to the Bahamas.”

“Thank them? Mr. Thorne, I would like to remind you that you are in federal custody now. Any illegal acts will result in the end of your probation and an immediate visit to prison.”

“Agent Linh, now is not the time to threaten me. I was thinking simple party tricks. A coin behind the ear here, a card trick or two there, a few missing wallets, maybe identify theft, just the basics. Wait, Agent Linh, are you laughing at me? Why are you not scowling at my adorable criminal nature? Is the idea of me conning your tech personnel that funny? Let me guess, a bunch of nerdy middle aged men who won’t be impressed with my criminally awesome masterplan for revenge?”

Cinder gave a snort, “Something like that. Now, time for business. You love jewelry so much, I thought I’d give you a piece of your own.” Cinder held out a thick black bracelet. Thorne took it, rolling it around in his hand. 

“Agent Linh, I would like to remind you that I like stealing jewelry, not necessarily owning it.” 

“Too bad. This one’s mandatory if you want to keep the job. State-of-the-art tracking bracelet with 24-hour monitoring. Thanks to the Fitbit trend, this’ll be much less conspicuous than a tracking anklet, so if you go undercover, we’ll still be able to track you.”

“I have to say, I’m impressed. Haven’t seen this model before. Where’d you find it?”

“Our tech personnel did some digging around.”

Thorne looked up at her. “There you go again with the tech personnel, ruining my life. How far is this sucker going to let me go from the FBI headquarters?”

“One mile. Any further, I get an alert and the police are automatically sent your coordinates. Take it off, and the same thing happens. When working on a case with me outside your radius, it should not alert the police,” Cinder said as she snapped the bracelet onto his wrist, locking it with a snap. It issued a beep, then the light on it turned green. 

Thorne held his wrist up to the light. “It matches my sunglasses just fine, don’t you think?”

“So there’s no excuse to take it off.”

Thorne just gave a grin, “Agent, these glasses won’t be on me all the time.”

“You better make sure they are,” Cinder said gruffly. “As for where you’ll be living, that has yet to be determined. For now, you’ll be staying in a cot right here. There’s microwavable meals and coffee in the break room for you to eat. The FBI’s given me a stipend for your clothes, so you can go shopping later. Within your radius, of course. Also, there’s this.” Cinder pulled something out of her back pocket and set in on the table in front of Thorne. He opened the folded black leather slowly, then smiled the biggest grin Cinder had ever seen on him. 

“You got me a badge? Agent Linh, I’m honored.” Thorne put a hand to his heart, then quickly pocketed the badge.

“It’s temporary, so it’ll expire when you stop working here. To make sure you don’t get any ideas about misusing the badge, there is also the matter of this.” Cinder slid her phone toward Thorne. His grin immediately fell when he saw the photo on it. 

“Where did you get that picture?” Thorne asked, his voice low. 

Cinder gave him a little grin. “Took it myself yesterday. She’s kind of bulky for your line of work, don’t you think?”

Thorne slammed his palm on the table. “Don’t insult my girl like that. She’s a beautiful thing, a work of art. How did you find my ship? She was well hidden!”

“As I have said, our tech personnel are brilliant. And you do realize that it’s a powerboat, and not an actual ship, right? Naming it after the original Rampion ship you stole doesn’t make it one.”

Thorne leaned down to the picture and whispered, “Shh, don’t worry about her girl. She doesn’t mean it.”

“Your powerboat is currently property of the FBI. If you fail to comply to the rules the FBI set forth regarding your employment or if you decide to make a surprise visit to the Bahamas funded with stolen money, your boat can easily be disposed of. Do I make myself clear? I don’t want to threaten you on your first day, but the matters we deal with are serious Mr. Thorne. I can’t have you messing up any of my cases. So stay out of trouble, and you can see your boat soon.” 

“Ship. But understood Agent Linh.”

“Good. Because we already have a case for you to take a look at. Come on down to my office. Iko and I will get you up to speed.” Cinder was already out the door by the time Thorne stood up.

“Who’s Iko?”

“My coworker.”

“You have a coworker? You seemed like one of those ‘I work alone’ types.”

“Catching con artists isn’t a solo job Mr. Thorne. You need backup.” They had reached her office, and Cinder pulled open the door.

“I did not just hear you call me backup.” Iko had her hand on her hip. “I am definitely the better agent.”

“I’m the head of the team Iko.”

“Just because I turned them down first.”

Cinder grinned at her best friend, who smiled back. “Whatever you say.”

“Agent Linh, when you said you were introducing me to your coworker, you failed to mention that she was also a supermodel.” Thorne strode up to Iko, took her hand and kissed it. “Consultant Carswell Thorne, pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

“Ooh, I knew I liked this one!” Iko beamed. 

Cinder gave a sigh. “Iko, you helped me put him into prison.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t admire his tastes.” Iko gave Thorne a wink. 

“If I knew working with the FBI was this interesting, I’d have gotten myself locked up years ago,” Thorne grinned at the two. 

Cinder sighed and handed Thorne the manila folder on her desk. “I could only wish.”

Thorne sat down and began reading the file. “Well, now this is interesting.” 

“Welcome to the Torin Case.” Iko said, sitting on the edge of Cinder’s desk. “Two days ago, a fifty-gallon tank with three exotic fish was stolen out of the private office of Mr. Torin, CEO of Torin Shipping Industries. It was there in the morning, but was gone when Torin came back from lunch. His office was locked with a keycard. We’ve interviewed employees working at the time, but none saw a fifty-gallon tank leaving the office. The fish are worth at least $200 each, the glass tank worth even more. Our lead right now is Sybil Mira, executive assistant at Beautiemisia Beauty Product Company. At the time of the theft, she was rumored to be in the office building, preparing to have a meeting with one of the floor directors. Footage has her walking into and out of the office building.”

“Any other evidence against her?” Thorne asked, his eyebrows drawing together the more he looked at the file. 

Cinder answered, “Torin gave us her name when we questioned him. Said someone had been messing with the package tracking ids at the beginning of the month, and his IT guys traced it to her computer. Before they could call authorities, all of their computers crashed. By the time they got it booted back up, the information was gone.” 

“Going from tech sabotage to outright theft? That’s a big jump and a totally different skill set.”

“Yeah.” Iko grimaced. “And anyway, she’s got an alibi.”

“Airtight?”

“Not quite. But it’s too good to get a search warrant of her place.” 

“If you wanted me too…” Thorne didn’t even need to finish the thought. 

“Absolutely not,” Cinder stated. “Every means by which we receive information must be able to hold up in court.” 

Thorne heaved a great sigh. “You FBI agents are so boring. If you won’t let me break into her house, at least let me break into the crime scene.”

Cinder smirked, “That’s the great thing about being an FBI agent. The crime scene is ours to search.” 

…

“My nephew suggested what?” Torin whispered hissed at Cinder as he conferred with her outside his office. 

“I know it sounds crazy, but I think Kai actually might be onto something. He did excellent in our trial run at the office, he just needs a bit of field experience. Who better to catch a criminal than another criminal who can predict his moves? And if you’re worried about having him steal anything else in your office, Iko’s got an eye on him.” Torin and Cinder looked at Thorne, who was opening the blinds in Torin’s office. He waved at them. 

“I’m not worried about him,” Torin turned toward Cinder. “I’m worried about you. You’re an excellent agent, Miss Linh, and if anyone can handle him, it’s you. It would be a shame if you took the fall for whatever he gets himself into just to solve this case or any other. My lost fish aren’t worth your career.” 

“I understand Torin. I promise I’ll be careful. But we’ve tried everything else, and if this works, it could save a lot of people time and money in future cases. And he’s not dumb. There’s a reason he’s only been caught once, he’s smart. He knows what he’s doing and what’ll happen if he oversteps his bounds.”

Torin gave a small breath, crossing his arms. “I’ll trust you, if you really think he can solve it.”

Cinder glanced back at Thorne, who was now running his hand over Torin’s desk. “Or at least give us answers to help us solve it.” 

“Good luck Miss Linh.” 

Cinder let out a breath. “Thank you so much Torin. We’ll contact you as soon as we find out anything.”

Torin gave her a little smile. “I would expect nothing less. And Miss Linh? Please do tell Kai I would like to have a word with him. He must stop putting my future niece-in-law’s job on the line.” 

Cinder gave a laugh, her cheeks red. “Will do Torin. Thank you.” 

He tipped his head toward her as he walked off. Cinder retightened her ponytail, then stepped into Torin’s office. 

“So Mr. Criminal Mastermind, have you solved the case yet?”

Thorne turned toward Cinder and waved his hand, shushing her. “I believe you meant Mr. Devilishly Handsome Criminal Mastermind. Now quiet, it’s time to get into my con artist mode.” 

“Isn’t that your default mode?” Iko asked. 

“Backup default. Actual default is charmingly sexy con artist.” Thorne walked around to the back of Torin’s desk. “So let’s pretend for a moment that I am not Carswell Thorne, world famous con artist, but instead a lowly thief who could in no respects compare to the Magnificent Carswell Thorne.“ Thorne gave Cinder a wink. She rolled her eyes. “Let’s start with the end and work our way forward. I need to get this fish tank out of the room without anyone seeing it. Pulling it though the ducts is out of the question because the ducts aren’t big enough. I didn’t break it into pieces, because that would ruin the resale value. So how did I remove it without breaking it?”

“C’mon mastermind, we’re waiting.”

“Don’t rush the process.” Thorne gave Cinder a glare, then looked around. “I could have snuck it out of the office in a cart. But that would be noisy.” Thorne stopped pacing and walked to the large windows that lined the outer wall of the office. He inspected the black rubber lining on the three windows closest to the fish tank. He picked at the top of the closest window, then peeled away the rubber. Underneath was lots of white chalk sealing the gap between window and wall, definitely not professionally done. 

“You’re kidding me,” Cinder said as she joined Thorne by the window. “The thief snuck the tank out the window. But that still doesn’t answer how they got the tank down 20 stories.” 

“That’s the real question. The windows look pretty clean, so we can rule out the old suction cup and ropes method of climbing. Also it’s just not practical with something as heavy as the fish tank.”

“And how would you know that?” Cinder put her hand on her waist. 

“Hypothetically speaking, of course.” Thorne turned back to the window. “This was sealed from the inside, which means this was at least a two-man job. One on the outside, one on the inside.”

“We had figured as much,” Iko said. “We interviewed the employees working at the time, and they said they didn’t see anything unusual. No suspicious people that stood out.” 

“How did you interview them?”

“Like normal.” Cinder said to Thorne. “We told them we were FBI, sat them down at a table, and interviewed each one individually. Standard FBI procedure.” 

Thorne tsked. “Rule number one of getting information: let the other person think they have the power. Rule number one and a half: follow the rumors. And rule two: flirt.”

“Mr. Thorne,” Cinder leveled a gaze at him in warning. 

“Watch and learn Agent Linh, watch and learn.” Thorne smirked, then proceeded to walk out of the office. Cinder made to follow, but Thorne held up a hand. “Uh-uh. You look too…FBI-y. And they’ve already seen you. Let a criminal mastermind handle this.”

Cinder and Iko watched him walk off, a swagger in his step. 

“Are you really going to let him go?” Iko asked.

Cinder ran a hand over her hair. “Yeah. I promised Torin I would solve it, and well, right now I’ll take any possible lead I can get. And anyway, I still need to show he’s semi-trustworthy if I want the FBI to truly hire him. Can’t come about that without a little bit of trust.”

Iko glanced out the window, where Thorne was chit-chatting it up with one of Torin’s female employees. “You still don’t want to tell him that this is just another trial run? That’s he’s not actually a consultant yet?”

“No, let him have the confidence of believing. I’ve already given him the badge anyway. I don’t want him throwing a hissy fit and interrupting solving the case. As soon as this is done with, I’ll break the news to him.”

“Can I be there to watch?” 

Cinder shot a glare to Iko, who just giggled. “No.”

A couple minutes later, Thorne sauntered back into the office, his grin way too big. “And that, ladies and ladies, is how to get information out of someone.”

“What did you find out?” Cinder asked.

“Thanks to my new friend, apparently a window washer was granted access to the office right during our time period.”

Cinder and Iko stared at him. Thorne continued, “Yeah, apparently they didn’t think it necessary to inform the police as they were in every office. According to break room rumors, one of the new IT techs passing through gave a window washer access to the office when his team had spotted a spot inside that desperately needed cleaning. Those techs, always creating trouble.” Thorne shook his head. 

“You’re kidding me.” Cinder turned, gazing out at the skyline. It made sense. In fact, it made a lot of sense. “That’s how they got the tank out through the window. And why there was no evidence of a break-in.”

Thorne smirked. “I believe this is when you tell me how amazing I am?”

“Keep waiting on it. So we know how-”

“-ish.” Thorne interrupted.

“Ish?”

“We know how-ish. I still don’t know the exacts of how they smuggled the fishies out.”

“We aren’t concerned with that right now since we’ve got a lead on who it might be. Catch the criminal, and we’ll find out the specifics.”

Thorne threw up his hands. “What’s my purpose here then if you don’t need me to think like the criminal?”

Iko grinned. “Eye candy.” Thorne showed his dimples and pointed finger guns at her as a sign of his agreement.

“C’mon, anything else you need to see here?” Cinder asked, already exiting the office.

“Nope, now that you’ve upgraded me to Devilishly Handsome Model status, I have no other purpose. Unless, of course, you’d like me to enact getting information rule number two.” Thorne winked. 

“Not unless you want that consultant status revoked. Iko, you drive. I’ll call Cress and catch her up on the way back to the office.”

Thorne hurried until he was right behind Cinder, Iko next to him. “Ooh, another person for me to add to your mysterious crew of criminal-catchers. When you I get to meet this one?”

“Soon. You have to promise to not be so…Carswell Thorne-y around her. She’s a nice girl, and she doesn’t deserve to have to put up with your antics.” 

“Agent Linh, I am shocked at your rudeness. There has never been a woman I have purposely been mean to. A few hearts broken, but really, that’s to be expected when you have a face as gorgeous as mine. Also, the one time I punched the director of an art gallery, but we can all just ignore that. It was a dire circumstance.”

“Cress can be self-conscious. Just don’t say or do anything stupid.” From Cinder’s right, Iko gave a snort. 

…

As soon as Cress heard the door to her office open, she shouted, “Stars Window Washing Company! We’ll clean your windows so well, they’ll shine as bright as the stars!” Cress spun around in her chair, facing the door, ready to see Cinder’s satisfied smile. Instead, she saw “Carswell Thorne!” and squeaked, planting her feet on the floor to stop spinning. 

“Hey,” Thorne smiled and held out his hand to the tiny girl ducking behind her office chair. He refrained himself from giving her his signature wink, and was going to be disappointed if Agent Linh didn’t recognize his herculean effort. Cress shook his hand with hesitation. “I would introduce myself, but it seems you did that for me. And you are?”

“Cress Darnel,” Iko saved the blushing Cress. “Tech personnel extraordinaire.”

Thorne immediately recoiled, taking a step, two, backwards. “You’re the tech personnel?!”

Cress’s eyes went wide, her blush draining. “Y-yes?”

“But you’re supposed to be like five middle aged men! Not,” Thorne waved in Cress’s general direction. “That!”

Cinder raised her eyebrows, stepping forward between Cress and Thorne. “Mr. Thorne, I know you wanted to have words with my tech personnel, but I suggest you quickly find some different words to use.”

“You wanted to talk with me?” Cress whispered. 

Thorne gave a grin that was just a little bit too big. “Ah, yes, I just wanted to…to thank you. For catching me right outside the gates. Agent Linh here told me about how you saved me from having to serve an extra year in prison.” 

Cress’s mouth opened, then closed. “I- no problem,” she quickly said.

“My sincerest gratitude.” Thorne gave her a little bow. The blush was immediately back. 

Cinder have him a pat on the back accompanied by a smirk. “Much better.”

“But seriously, your entire tech personnel is one girl?”

“She’s a genius. We don’t need anyone else but her.” Cinder stated simply. “Everything I knew about you, she found.”

“Even my Rampion?”

“Especially your Rampion.” 

Thorne took a deep breath in, then a deep breath out. “Can I at least get a hint where- “

“Absolutely not,” replied Cinder, turning back toward Cress. “I’m sorry about him. He’s a bit hard to manage. So you found the window washers?”

“I-ah-yes. Stars Window Washing Company,” Cress stated, burying herself back into her computer, scrolling through a screen of text. “Headquartered right here in New Beijing. I’ve looked through all the employees, and there’s none that has a criminal record. Every worker seems to be an upstanding citizen.”

“And of course you’ve already checked for aliases?”

“Running facial recognition through the system now. We’ll know in a half hour if we get any hits.”

“How’d you find the pictures?” Iko asked, moving to see the computer screen. 

“Posted right on the homepage of their website.”

“I’ll send the photos to Torin, see if he recognizes them. Iko, do you want to head back over and see if the workers recognize them?”

“I’m on it,” Iko stated, shrugging back on her coat and exiting the office.

“Cress, keep digging. Call me if something comes up. Mr. Thorne, you’ll be coming with me to my office to review employee files. See if anything stands out.” With that, Cinder left Cress’s office. Thorne stayed behind, leaning down to peer over Cress’s shoulder. 

“Hey.” 

Cress jumped, her fingers slipping on the keys, closing a few tabs. “Uh, hi.”

“So,” Thorne stated, resting his elbow on Cress’s desk, leaning toward her. “My Rampion is in your care, eh? Care to share where it’s hidden?”

“No, that would get me um arrested for sharing confidential FBI information with a known criminal.”

“You mean consultant?” Thorne flashed his badge and his smile. “And really, prison’s not a bad place. Well, except for the soap. But if it’s my fault, I’ll help you sneak out and even give you a ride on my ship.”

“I’m going to have to decline that as well.” Cress stated, inching back some more.

“Okay, we can throw out the prison bit. But I’ll still promise you the best ship ride of your life if you give me the information.” 

“You own a powerboat.”

Thorne stood up, running a hand through his hair. “It’s a ship, okay! A ship!”

“The registration and insurance forms say otherwise.” 

Cress seemed to shrink in her seat as Thorne turned toward her. “C’mon now, I thought all that documentation was secret!”

“Mr. Thorne!” Cinder stormed back in, a few stray hairs coming out of her ponytail. “What did you not understand about follow me to my office?”

“Oh, that was a command?” Thorne gave his dimpled grin. “I took that as a suggestion.”

Cinder instead addressed Cress. “He didn’t hassle you, did he?”

“Uh,” Cress glanced at Thorne. He mouthed “Best ship ride ever.” Cress looked back at Cinder. “He wanted to know where the boat is located.” 

“The ship! Why will no one call it my ship?”

Cinder sighed and gave Cress an exasperated shake of her head. Cress’s mouth turned up at the corners. “Mr. Thorne, stop annoying my tech expert. Come to my office, you’ve got some files to look through.” 

…

“Ugh!” Cress groaned, burying her red face in her hands and spinning around in her chair. “That was so embarrassing!”

“Cress, it wasn’t that bad,” Iko stated, repainting her nails in the chair across from Cress. “Other introductions have definitely gone worse. Like the first time you meet me.”

Cress buried her face deeper. “You were undercover at a gambling din on the arm of some gangster. I didn’t know you were undercover at the time! What was I supposed to think?”

Iko gave a long laugh, patting Cress on the back. “It was Cinder’s fault for not telling you anyway. See? Your intro with Carswell was brilliant compared to that.”

“He looked at me like I was a monster!”

“Pretty sure that isn’t you personally. Scratch that, I know it isn’t you personally. I don’t think Carswell likes tech geniuses in general.” 

Cress poked her head up. “Why? We’re nice people.”

“Yeah, you are, except that you also single-handedly gathered his entire life into a file, found his precious boat, and stopped him from escaping prison.” 

“Right. That.” 

“Hey, don’t stress about it. Carswell Thorne can handle it. And anyway, he’s a legit criminal, so you shouldn’t care about what he thinks about you at all.” 

“I know but… can’t I just not be awkward for one moment of my life?”

Iko laughed, giving her friend a hug with one arm. “Well, at least you’ll get a chance to be around him again and be less awkward. He did really well at Torin’s office today. No doubt he’ll be cleared to work with us permanently.” 

Cress’s head disappeared again. “Not helping.”

“Hey, would it make you feel better to talk about the hits I got on the window washers at TSI? As much as I love discussing guy drama, we should probably do our job.”

That made Cress laugh, which in turn made Iko smile. Cress straightened up in her chair and unlocked her computer. “It’s not really even guy drama anyway.”

“Carswell is a guy. And the repercussions from the interaction between you two was dramatic.” 

Cress shot Iko a glance. “But it’s not guy drama. Like the crush kind.” 

Iko reclined back in her chair. “Who said I was implying crushing? You’re the one that thought about that.”

“I-you-wrong… you know what I meant!” Cress spluttered, spinning around. 

“He is handsome.”

“And a criminal!”

“It kind of adds to the intrigue, don’t you think?”

“IKO!”

“Okay, okay, fine, I’ll stop,” Iko grinned. “He is too much of a flirt to make a good, steady boyfriend like you need anyway.”

“Thank you,” Cress sighed. “So, what did you actually find out at Torin Shipping Industries? Isn’t that why you came in the first place?”

“Oh, yeah, right. Out of the twenty employees, five got consistently pointed out as being there that day.”

“Names?”

Iko rattled off the five as Cress scooted in her office chair to a second computer. “Hey, the facial recognition is complete. Time to check the results and hope they match some of the names!”

“Crossing fingers.” Iko made her way over to stand behind Cress as she clicked a button. Two mug shots popped up on the screen. “So it wasn’t Sybil after all, huh.”

“Nope, and bingo!” Cress grinned up at Iko, then scurried over to her main computer, inputting the names into the FBI criminal database. “Evan White, otherwise known as Wynn Annotel. Several counts of petty theft and vandalism, sentenced to six months in jail two years ago.”

“Very promising,” Iko stated, looking at the picture Cress had pulled up of him. “He’s definitely got the upper body mass to lift the fish tank.” 

“We also have Lester Avery, who is actually Ran Kesley. Another criminal record filled with misdemeanors: minor assaults, DUIs, vandalism, disorderly conduct.” 

“I’m guessing he’s still not in jail as well?”

“Yup. Released four months ago on bail,” Cress stated, scrolling through reports. 

“We have enough to get a search warrant for their apartment?”

“Looks like it.”

“I’ll go get Cinder.”

…

“No sign of the fishy stealer?”

“Nothing.”

“Agent Linh, I’m so disappointed. I was expecting to come in, guns blazing, and catch the dirty criminals in the act of feeding the fish. They would then confess to all their crimes and we could celebrate with drinks. That was so much more boring,” Thorne complained from the backseat as Cinder drove Iko and him back to headquarters.

“Welcome to the reality of being an FBI agent in the white collar crimes division,” Cinder stated. “At least we were able to figure out how they did it.” 

“Very true. I was impressed by the details of their pre-planning though,” Thorne mused. “I mean, they even had who to ask about entering the office to ‘clean a spot on the windows.’ It must have been simple after that, close the blinds, detach the window from its frame, set it on the carpet, have Wynn bring the window washing carriage to the open window, place the fish in one of the cleaning buckets, dump the water out in Torin’s private office bathroom, and lift the much lighter tank onto the carriage. Cover it, have Wynn lower the carriage to the ground, where the two of the them could fill it with supplies and carry it to their van, making a clean escape. Brilliant.” Cinder shot Thorne a glare through the rearview mirror. “I mean, very evil. So what happens now? Manhunt?” Thorne leaned forward and pushed his head up between the two front seats. “It’ll be nice to be on this side of one for once.” 

“Nice try, but no. We’ll send out a notice to NYPD to alert us if they see him. Cress will continue to monitor their credit cards, see if she can find any other information, any family members or anything.” 

“She hasn’t had any luck? I thought she was the best.”

“She is the best,” Iko defended. “She’s trying to find his childhood files, but everything’s wiped under the age of eleven.”

“That’s weird.”

“Yeah, so that’s why we really don’t have anything. At least the fish were found. So now all we can do is wait until the criminal resurfaces.” 

“Wait?” Thorne flopped back down into his seat, his head rolling up. “Do you know how much waiting I’ve done in my life?

“Well, you’re going to do some more.” 

“This isn’t what I sighed up for!”

“You signed up to be released from jail.”

“Okay, fair point. But if we’re just waiting around, I might as well ask when I will be moving to my luxurious new home. While the conference room is great, it just isn’t my style.”

“Cress is still looking into it. There’s no open spaces in a one-mile radius, and extending that radius is out of the question,” Cinder said. 

Thorne gave a dramatic sigh, “Once again, my life is in the hands of the tech personnel.”

“You can call her Agent Darnel, you know,” Iko turned to look at him.

“Will that convince her to give me the location to my Rampion?”

“Nothing will convince her to give you that information. She’s on direct orders from the FBI to keep that top secret.” Thorne gave another sigh. 

Cinder pulled into the FBI headquarters parking lot and parked. “Iko, will you please escort Mr. Thorne to his new living quarters. And make sure Cress leaves at the same time you do. She needs to go home and sleep. Don’t stay too late.” Iko gave a nod, then nudged Thorne toward the building’s entrance. 

“Wait, where are you going?” Thorne asked Cinder as she started to walk away from the entrance.

“Home. We’ve spent all day staking out Ran’s and Wynn’s apartment, and I’ve got to meet my boyfriend for dinner in ten minutes.” 

“I knew there was a reason you weren’t falling for my inescapable charm and handsomeness! So when do I get to meet the lucky guy?’

“Never,” Cinder stated, unlocking her car and getting into the driver’s seat. Paperwork, dealing with Thorne, and tracking down Ran Kesley and Wynn Annotel could wait until tomorrow. Right now, she had some fish to return and a celebratory dinner to attend.


	3. Case 3: Emilie Bakery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! It's been a rough couple of weeks, but I had a lot of fun writing this! Enjoy! Thanks also to my beta Lunatic Cress!

“Rise and shine. We’ve got another case,” Cinder said to the still-in-his-cot Thorne. She dropped the file onto his chest, then took a sip of coffee.

“And I thought I had to wake up early while in prison,” Thorne groaned, sitting up. 

“Crime doesn’t do lazy mornings. My office in twenty.” With that, Cinder left Thorne to get dressed. When he had finally gotten himself presentable, he entered Cinder’s office, stretching his arms above his head. 

“Good morning everyone,” Thorne said to Cinder, Iko, and Cress, plopping himself down in a chair.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” Iko grinned at him. “Thank you for gracing us with your presence.”

“No problem,” Thorne yawned. “We have a new case already? What about catching Ran and Wynn?”

“There have been no updates on the two,” Cress spoke up. “We’re monitoring everything, but they’re off the grid.” 

“And we can only do so much. There’s plenty of other cases needing our attention, so we must move on. Local police will keep tabs on them now.” Cinder nodded at Cress. “Want to fill everyone in on the new case?”

“Uh, okay.” Cress unlocked the tablet sitting on her lap and stared directly at it. “Our newest victim is Emilie Monfort, of The Emilie Bakery fame. Opened a year and a half ago, the business is the newest up-and-coming bakery in that part of the city. It’s been mentioned in several national newspapers, and the bakery’s profits have been increasing steadily since its opening. Yesterday afternoon Emilie wanted to try a new recipe, so she got her recipe book out of its hiding spot only to realize it was missing. The recipe book has been in her family for generations, and all the pastries the bakery is known for come from the book.”

“Let me guess,” Iko said, “Emilie was the only one who knew where it was hidden.” 

“Yup,” Cress stated, darting her gaze forward. Thorne made eye contact, and Cress focused back on her tablet. “Emilie said none of her staff knew where it was located either, but I would interview everyone just in case.”

“Anyone in particular you want us to focus on?” Cinder asked. 

“Not at the moment. There’s one employee with a history of alcohol abuse, but otherwise, everyone’s clean. I’ve accessed employee satisfaction surveys from this past month, and all of the staff seems to like their job and boss a lot.”

“Or they could be lying,” Iko grimaced. “But we’ll have to figure that out when we interview them.” 

“What about competitors?” Thorne asked, putting his elbows on his knees and sitting forward. “Surely they wouldn’t be happy about an upstart bakery taking over business.” 

Cress nodded at him. “They aren’t. However, I couldn’t find any proof of concrete threats, just angry grumblings. Nothing too suspicious.” 

“You’ve done your work,” Thorne commented. Cress nodded again. “When did you get the file?”

“This morning.” 

Thorne gave a low whistle. “You must have been up early. How are you still functioning?” Cress shrugged, holding up her energy drink and taking another swig. 

“Hardcore. I definitely need to get me some of that.” Thorne glanced hopefully at Cinder. She shook her head in a strong no. 

“Okay, Thorne, Iko and I will be heading to Emilie Bakery to talk with her and interview the staff. Cress, keep looking into competitors. Text us if you find anything, and we’ll check with them later. Sound good?”

“Yes sir,” Thorne saluted. Iko and Cress didn’t even try to suppress their giggles. 

Cinder crossed her arms, “You’re all hopeless.” 

“You know you love us,” Iko grinned, slinging an arm around her friend’s shoulders. 

“You and Cress, maybe. Mr. Thorne-“

“You wish to profess your undying, passionate love for?” Thorne wiggled his eyebrows.

“Absolutely not. Now seriously guys, let’s go fight some crime,” said Cinder, grabbing her keys. 

“Or we could take a day off and create some crime.” Thorne winked, lacing his arms above his head. “There’s a new solar-themed exhibit at the Palace Museum that I’ve heard has some excellent priceless goods with minimal security...” 

“Mr. Thorne, if I could lock you back up, I would.” 

“There’s that undying love I was talking about.” 

Cinder surveyed her team, letting out a small smile. “Emilie’s expecting us, so come on. To the car.” She motioned to the door, and her team filed out. 

…

Walking into the bakery, Thorne could see why it was so popular. Cute décor, those little round fancy tables, two large display cases filled with every good pastry imaginable—it was the ultimate little bakery. Just walking in gave Thorne happy fuzzy feelings. 

The feelings lasted until he followed Cinder and Iko into the kitchen, where there was flour flying, bakers running everywhere, timers beeping, and poor Emilie Monfort bawling her eyes out in the middle of it all.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Emilie hiccupped, wiping her eyes. “It’s just…I mean it’s been handed down from generation to generation and…oh, Grandma would be so disappointed in me.” More tears leaked out. “Why would someone do this? Right when I have a big catering event coming up too…”

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Iko patted Emilie gently on the back. “You’ve got the best FBI agents in the business working to find your recipe book.”

“Thank you all so much,” Emilie said, dabbing under her eyes. 

“It’s our job madam. May my consultant and I go search the storeroom?” Cinder asked. 

“Of course.” Emilie nodded her head in the direction of the room.

“Thank you. Iko, mind saying here and getting Emilie’s side of the story first-hand again?”

“No problem, boss,” Iko stated, then ushered Emilie to one of the cake-consulting rooms off the kitchen. 

“So,” Thorne said, walking into the storage room. “Would now be a good time to mention how hungry I am since I didn’t get breakfast?”

“No,” Cinder replied. “Get searching for clues, then maybe food.”

“We’re standing in a room stocked with food. This is cruel and unusual punishment.” 

“I could say the same thing about working with you.”

“Oh ouch, Agent Linh. Although I applaud you on your excellent burn.” Thorne accepted Cinder’s slight smirk, then glanced around the little space. Maybe if he complimented her, she would rethink not giving him breakfast. “So what are we looking for?”

“I had Emilie hide something in the space where she used to keep her recipe book. You will search for it as the thief, so we can have a rough estimate of how long it would have taken the actual thief to find it. It’ll help fill in the timeline of the crime.” 

“Assuming the thief didn’t know where it was hidden in the first place?”

“Yes. Emilie swears up and down that she was the sole keeper of that information, so we’ll continue to work under that assumption until something proves us wrong.”

“Alright, then,” Thorne stretched out his arms, lacing his fingers together and pushing them outward. “Let’s get to stealing.”

“You mean looking into how someone else stole something, but keeping your hands to yourself?”

Thorne grinned, “Sure.” He started from the door, crouching down and inspecting one of the large bags of flour. He rubbed his hand along the edge, his fingers coming back white and dusty. 

“Ah, classic,” Thorne smirked, heaving the bag of flour out of the way and feeling around on the bare floor. He lifted a loose wooden board. “Gotcha!”

“Already?” Cinder’s mouth turned down. “Wouldn’t take a master thief to find that. What’s in there?”

Thorne looked back at her. “Nothing.” 

“No, no,” Cinder came to stand behind him. “Emilie said she hid something for us in the place of where the recipe book once was. You don’t think…”

“She lied to us?” 

“No, not everyone is as sneaky as you. What if she has two hidden secret panels?”

Thorne rubbed a hand over his chin. “It’s smart. Something I would have done,” He began prowling around the floor, listening for the tell-tale squeak of another loose board. 

It turns out there were not two, but at least twelve possible hiding spaces. Thorne looked at Cinder as he found the twelfth one, a tiny spot revealed when one removed a part of the baseboard trim of the room. “You want to do the honors?”

“I’ll just watch and cross my fingers. It’s been thirty minutes, it better be this one.”

“Okay, then,” Thorne stated, opening the panel. “Aces.” He muttered, standing up. “Nothing. You sure she didn’t tell you where it was hidden?”

“No. The thief wouldn’t have known, so we don’t know. But this is insane,” Cinder sighed, brushing the loose ends of her hair back. Thorne sat on the ground, legs spread apart, arms extended behind him. “Thorne, where would you have hidden it?”

“Certainly in one of those twelve spaces.”

“What if…what if you did. You sure there isn’t a hidden panel in the hidden panel?”

Thorne tipped his head back and groaned. “Of course.” He crawled over to the first hidden panel. “But if there’s a thirteenth panel, I swear...” Thorne trailed off as he dug around. Nothing. He pulled out a cement block of the wall, finding the block once again hollowed out. He handed it to Cinder. She turned it upside down to search for a fake bottom while Thorne ran his hand over the space in the wall the block fit into. His hand tipped over what was supposedly the top of the next box. “Ah-ha!” he exclaimed, grinning. “The block under it is also hollowed out, just not able to be pulled out. Pretty awesome, if my criminal mastermind senses are anything to brag about. Which they are.” 

Cinder made no comment. Instead, she walked over to inspect the panel, reaching in and pulling out a pastry box from the bakery. Opening it revealed two fresh chocolate eclairs. 

“This is the best case ever,” Thorne declared, taking a bite out of one. “Definitely makes up for the missed breakfast.”

Cinder gave a smile herself, enjoying the flakey pastry. She made a mental note to take Kai here on a date sometime. They could both use a little sweetness in their lives after work. “Come on, let’s go thank Emilie and see how she’s holding up.”

“Excuse me, Agent Linh, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to finish this case with you.” Cinder stared back at him, an eyebrow raised. “I’m quitting my job to be the official Emilie Bakery test-taster.” 

“You’re FBI custody on probation. You quit, it’s no-sweets jail.”

“Do you think Emilie would send me boxes of eclairs to brighten my days in a cell?”

Cinder gave a little snort and leaned back against some crates stacked in the corner. “No. Save that job for your girlfriend.”

“As soon as you find her, let her know.”

She rolled her eyes, “You don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Exactly.”

“I’m not your personal matchmaking service,” Cinder crossed her arms. 

“It pays well, not to mention the extraordinary benefits and extra vacation days.”

“Despite how nice it sounds, I’ll still decline since it’s an impossible job. No girl in her right mind would put up with you for that long.”

Thorne gave her a wink, “You’re putting up with me.”

“Because it’s my actual job.”

“Agent Linh, you wound me. But-“ Thorne stopped, his eyes catching on something behind Cinder. “Wait. Hold on, we can discuss your matchmaking services later. Agent, isn’t Kesley the last name of one of the guys we’re searching for?’

“Yeah, why?”

Thorne moved, running his hands over the stamped logo on the crate. “Beniot-Kesley Farms.” He glanced at her. “A person with the last name Kesley had to be in this storeroom recently.”

Cinder’s hand flew to her pocket, pulling out her phone and dialing. A crazy long shot, yes, but she’d take any possible leads she could get at this point. Cinder put the call on speakerphone. “Hey, Cress? You still awake?”

“When am I never not awake?”

“That’s a double negative. How much caffeine have you had?”

“I’ve reverted back to tea!”

“Good.” Cinder shared a glance with Thorne and shook her head. Thorne grinned. “Find any leads?”

“No, but you’re calling me, so I’m assuming you did?”

“A possible one, yeah. Did the Benoit-Kesley Farms ever come up in your search for Ran?”

“Yup. Along with Kesley Flowers, Kesley Hardware Store, Kesley Family Dog Training Service…there were so many Kesley businesses, I gave a brief look at all of them, but I didn’t see any immediate connection to Ran. Do you think he’s involved with the farm?”

“No idea. But we’re here in Emilie’s storeroom, and there are crates from the farm in it. It’s a long shot, but it’s still a connection.” 

“Ooh,” There was some noise in the background of the call. It sounded suspiciously like a can being opened. “Locally owned farm a couple hours outside of the city. They specialize in organic fruits and vegetables, but are also known for their fresh honey and flour.”

“Did they deliver to the Emilie Bakery the day the recipe book went missing?”

“No idea. Either their records are super well-hidden online, or they’re the old-school type.”

“Old-school type it is. We’ll need to meet them in person then.”

“Or at least find their desktop computer. I’ll keep searching though. Hey, also, Kai stopped by and dropped off lunch. Do you-”

Thorne leaned forward, grinning. He spoke too soon for Cinder to stop him. “Oh, who’s this Kai guy? Another person of the team I haven’t met yet?”

“Thorne!” Cress yelped. “Hi! Uh, hello! I didn’t realize, uh…No, Kai’s um not part of our team.” 

Cinder clamped her hands behind her back. Too late to take the call off speaker phone now. Thorne didn’t need a name to go along with the fact that she had a boyfriend.

“Oh, very interesting.” Thorne rested against the stack of crates. “Then who is this mysterious Kai?”

“Uhhhh,” Cress stammered. Cinder reminded herself to thank Cress later; the girl knew when to keep a secret. “Ooh! I hear my police scanner alert going off! Better go check it, so check in with me later bye!” With that, Cress disconnected. 

Thorne gave a smirk, standing up and stretching. “Well, that was suspicious.”

“Don’t comment,” Cinder muttered, running a hand over her ponytail. “Now come on, let’s go see how Iko’s doing.” The two exited the storage room and maneuvered their way around the kitchen to the consulting room.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Cinder asked, directing her gaze to Emilie. The girl gave a weak smile. 

“Better, now that I know the best FBI agents are working to find my recipe book.” 

Cinder nodded her thanks as she and Thorne sat down. “Emilie, is it alright if we ask some more questions?” Emilie nodded, using a tissue to wipe her eyes. “Excellent job choosing a hiding place, by the way. My consultant and I were very impressed, and the eclairs were phenomenal.” Thorne nodded enthusiastically. “While we were in there, we saw some crates from Benoit-Kesley Farms. Kesley is the last name of a suspect we have in another case. Do you recognize the name Ran Kesley?” 

“No, that doesn’t sound familiar,” Emilie stated. “The only workers from the farm I know by name are the owners, Scarlet Benoit-Kesley and her husband. Everyone just calls him Wolf. I don’t actually know his name.” 

“That’s okay, thank you.” Cinder shot a glance at Iko and Thorne. “Did they perhaps deliver on the day the recipe book went missing?”

“No?” Emilie replied. “They normally deliver every Friday morning. I did need an emergency shipment the other day, we had been busy all week, then a rush of people came in and they delivered a few more bags—but I can’t recall what day that was.”

“Is there something unusual you can recall about that day?” Iko asked. 

“Not particularly…I’ve just been really busy this last week, which is good, but it made for a pretty stressful past couple of days. I remember ordering the shipment because a huge group of college kids came in and ordered half the baked goods I had on hand—and then there was this one customer, he kept getting really angry at the kids and well, it was just a really bad day. The amount of flour I had on hand was already low, and I knew I didn’t have enough to feed all the kids, so I called in a rush shipment. Benoit-Kesley Farms came around twenty minutes later with it. Does that help?”

Cinder gave a nod, even though she had no idea if it did or not. “One more thing, you said Benoit-Kesley Farms deliver here Friday? Like tomorrow?”

“Oh, yes. Oh,” Emilie’s face sank. “I’ve been ordering from criminals, and I’m going to let them back into the building! I have to cancel my order, find a new supplier, oh goodness I’m going to run out of flour again…”

“Wait just a moment,” Cinder held her hand up in the air. “Have them come here tomorrow.” 

Emilie looked up at her and sniffed. “Why?” 

“We don’t know they stole it yet,” Iko reassured the girl. “It’ll give us a chance to talk with them. That is to say, as long as you let us come back here.”

“Yes, yes, of course. They arrive here around four a.m.”

Cinder grinned at Thorne, who was already scowling. “Ready for another early morning?”

…

Pulling himself out of bed at 3 a.m. was worth it to see the look on Cinder’s face when he met her outside the building at 3:40 sharp with two black coffees in hand. 

“Someone’s cheery,” Cinder muttered, grabbing the coffee and taking a long sip. “Thanks.”

“Who could not be cheery this early in the morning?” Thorne grinned. The two made their way to Cinder’s car. “Brings back fond memories from college, staying up way too late, waking up way too early. Ah the good ole days.” 

Cinder glanced over at him as she pulled out of the FBI lot. “Didn’t you only attend college for a year?”

“Wasn’t my scene. My talents were much better suited elsewhere.”

“Like posing as an art museum tour guide to steal a Deshal painting?”

“Allegedly. But seriously Agent Linh, do you know every detail about my life? ‘Cause it’s starting to get weird. And a little creepy. The tech personnel dug all of it up, didn’t she?” Cinder gave a nod, her brows furrowed. “Of course, of course. You see, this is why I don’t trust them! They know everything!” 

“Only stuff online, so it’s your fault Cress was able to find it,” Cinder replied back, taking a moment to glance at him. 

Thorne crossed his arms and muttered, “It’s still weird.” 

“She’s not going to use your personal information against you. It’s only to make sure you don’t double cross us. Think of it as insurance instead of blackmail.” 

“I’d rather not think about it at all,” Thorne huffed. Then amended, “Except about where my precious baby is hidden.” 

Cinder rolled her eyes, “Can’t you give it up already?”

“Never. I’ll find it, someday.”

“Okay.”

“Just okay? No defense?” Thorne raised his eyebrows. 

“You can keep trying all you want, but you’re not going to break Cress or her computer wards.” 

“Getting protected things is kind of my life, you know, the whole criminal mastermind thing? I’ll find a way.” 

“Sure.” Cinder failed to hold back a snort. She blamed it on the early morning and Thorne being nice by giving her coffee. No doubt it was his plan all along to get on her good side. 

The two were silent a bit, until Thorne picked back up the conversation, “Speaking of Cress, I think I finally figured out who the mysterious Kai she spoke of is.” 

Cinder raised her eyebrow. “You did?”

“Yeah. He’s Cress’s boyfriend.” 

Cinder choked, her hands gripping the steering wheel. “What?”

Thorne pointed at her red face. “Ha! So I was right! Not that I ever doubted myself, all the facts are there. See, she sounded more flustered than normal on the phone, and then you told me to drop it, which meant it was personal, and next she changed the conversation. She’s definitely cute enough to find herself a boyfriend, so it doesn’t surprise me. And now I have leverage against her to give me the coordinates of my ship.” 

Cinder had to stifle her laughter. “This is what you’ve been up all night thinking about?”

“Partially. Also thinking about how to find where my Rampion is hidden using said blackmail.”

Cinder shook her head, allowing herself to show her grin. “Like I just said, that’s a useless endeavor.” 

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Thorne stated. Cinder decided to let it drop and focus on driving. She should probably tell him whose boyfriend Kai actually was, but Cinder decided it would be a conversation to have when she wasn’t so sleepy. 

Thanks to the early morning, the streets were mostly clear. It made the drive go much quicker, for which Cinder was thankful. Soon enough, they were walking into the back of Emilie Bakery, a cloud of flour greeting them. 

“Thank you so much for coming!” Emilie exclaimed, ushering the two farther in and placing a mini cinnamon roll into each of their hands. Thorne gave a giddy little giggle as he stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. 

“Thank you for the breakfast,” Cinder smiled at the girl, taking the time to eat the cinnamon roll like a normal person. 

“It’s the least I could do, after making you come here so early. Now, they should arrive any minute. Make yourselves comfortable. Do you want me to be here when you talk with them?”

“Uh,” Cinder and Thorne shared a glance. “It might be best to let us handle it first. We would hate for them to not talk because they’re in front of one of their favorite clients.” Also, neither of them knew what to do in case Emilie started to cry when she saw them, so it would be best to keep her as far away from the possible tear-inducing situation as possible. 

“Right, okay, well I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll be working the front counter if you need anything!”

“Thank you Emilie. We’ll call you in as soon as we find out where the recipe book is.”

“You really are the best,” Emilie stated, giving Cinder a hug. The girl’s eyes were already beginning to glimmer. Cinder nodded as Emilie walked away, preparing the trays of baked goods to sit in the glass counter at the front. Thorne stood there, licking the icing off his fingers. 

True to her word, Benoit-Kesley Farms arrived within the next five minutes. Cinder heard them before she saw them, a gruff male voice paired with a female one. Thorne gave a little groan as the pair rounded the corner carrying bags of flour. She had to agree. 

The male looked like a bodybuilder decided to spend a year in the wilderness, fending for himself and gaining even more muscle mass in the meantime. As physically dominating as the man was, the woman was just as, if not more, badass. She walked with confidence, and something in her facial expression just screamed, don’t mess with me. 

Which is exactly what Cinder had to do. The joys of being an FBI agent. Perhaps she could convince Thorne to make the first move? When she looked over at him, he was staring at her, wide-eyed. So, that would be a no. 

Cinder approached them as soon as they unloaded the bags in their hands. She held up her badge. “Scarlet and Wolf Benoit-Kesley? Agent Linh of the FBI, can I ask you some questions?”

Immediately, Wolf’s head fell, his body sinking. Thorne raised his eyebrows at Cinder. She shrugged in reply. “Mr. Wolf? Are you alright? I just need to ask you a few questions, that’s all.”

“What happened this time?” Wolf looked up at the two, his voice low and rough. 

“I… Do you know a Ran Kesley?”

“Ran? What’s Ran have to do with anything?” asked Scarlet, stepping forward and wrapping an arm protectively around her husband. 

“He’s a suspect in one of our investigations. If we could please walk into the consulting room, we could talk privately.” Scarlet nodded, and they all moved. 

“He didn’t kill anyone, did he?” Wolf asked, looking Cinder in the eyes after sitting down. Cinder was a tad alarmed that was the first thing Wolf thought to ask. 

“No. He’s the lead in our White Collar crime case. We believe he stole private property from Torin Shipping Industries. Do you know anything about this?”

“What?” Scarlet leveled a glare at the two. “You don’t think we were involved?”

“Not at the moment, no. But we have to check all possible suspects. What were you doing this past Monday in the noon hour?”

“We have deliveries from four in the morning to three in the afternoon. We stopped at the Rieux Tavern at 11 a.m. for lunch. You can check our delivery records, ask our customers, talk to the Tavern owner. They can back up our whereabouts.”

Cinder nodded. “If could you give our tech analyst clearance to view the information about your deliveries, that would be great.”

“Of course,” Scarlet pulled her tablet out of her satchel and handed it to Cinder. 

“Thank you, we’ll have this back to you shortly. So what is your connection to Ran?”

“He’s my brother,” Wolf stated, staring down at his folded hands on the table. “We both fell into the wrong crowd in high school. I got out of it,” Wolf looked at Scarlet. She squeezed his hand, and they smiled at each other. Wolf looked back at Cinder. “Ran didn’t. I tried to get him to leave with me, but he refused. A couple months back, Ran showed up at our door. Said he wanted to turn his life around like I did.”

“Did he?” Thorne asked. 

The two nodded. “He seemed sincere,” Scarlet stated. “We gave him a job being a delivery boy, always showed up on time. Both of us were impressed. We even bought him a small apartment in the city so he didn’t have to continue to room with any of his old buddies. Thought it would help with the fresh start.”

“The apartment on Regolith Avenue? We searched through it and found plans for the heist at Torin Shipping Industries. There’s a team stationed there now in case he comes back.” 

Wolf and Scarlet shared a glance, their eyebrows scrunching. Wolf’s leg started bouncing. “Regolith Avenue? His apartment is on Market Street.”

Thorne turned toward Cinder. “How come Cress didn’t catch it? She cross-referenced all the apartment leases in the city with his name.” 

“It’s under our name,” Wolf said, his shoulders hunched. “I thought he was really getting better.”

Cinder leaned forward, staring down the couple. “Did he come to work on Monday?”

“Monday’s his day off.” 

“Did he deliver here two days ago?”

Wolf shook his head. “No, but he did Tuesday, three days ago. We only keep one delivery guy on in the afternoons since most of our deliveries are in the morning. Emilie contacted us for an emergency shipment of flour, so we sent Ran.” Wolf ran a hand down his face. “Aces.”

“I’m so sorry about all this,” Cinder looked at the two. “But do we have your consent to search the apartment?”

“Of course.” They stated simultaneously. Scarlet added, “We’ll have our other delivery people finish the rounds this morning. We can go to the apartment with you now.” 

“We’ll follow you there.”


	4. Case 4: Ran's Second Apartment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to my awesome beta Lunartic Cress! Enjoy the chapter and please review!

"I've got keys, so no need to break down the door. I don't want to have to replace it," Scarlet stated, moving in front of Cinder and putting the keys in the lock of Ran's second apartment. It was a small place on the first floor of what looked like a row house. Cinder raised the gun in her hand.

  
"Is that really necessary?" Thorne looked at the gun in disdain.

  
"Just in case."

  
"Still seems overdramatic," Thorne muttered, peering through a window into the apartment.

  
"No one asked you," Cinder muttered back, then motioned for Scarlet to open the door.

  
"Wait, wait, wait," Thorne grabbed Scarlet's arm. Wolf and Scarlet scowled at him, and Thorne removed it. "You can't go in there."

  
"We have the consent of the owners; we don't need a warrant."

  
"No, I know, I – here, look." Thorne pointed through the window. "See that little white box on the far wall? Yeah, well you see that blue light on it? The box means there is a security system guarding the house. And only one type of security system can lay claim to that signature blue light."

  
"Evret Security," Cinder sighed, running a hand through her hair.

  
"Ding, ding, we have a winner."

  
"Did you know about this?" Cinder turned to Wolf and Scarlet.

  
"No," Wolf kept looking through the window. "I didn't even know he had a second apartment! Why would he even need a security system? Unless the gang was taunting him again, but he seemed unharmed the last time I saw him..." Wolf rubbed a hand over his face.

  
"Hate to break it to you," Thorne made to put his arm on Wolf's back, then thought better of it. "Since the inside control panel is very visible, and I don't see any signs advertising the system, we can pretty much assume Ran bought the Evret Black Market security system. You break in, no alarms sound. No lights, nothing. Just an alert that goes directly to the police and Ran's cell phone within seconds. It's scary awesome." Thorne looked back in the apartment, his stare going wistful. "I always wanted one, but they're insanely expensive, even for me. It would have been great to guard my collection of—of hats, yeah."

  
No one mentioned Thorne's slip-up, instead moving on to more pressing issues. "What's the point of having no blaring alarms? Seems stupid if you ask me." Scarlet put her hands on her hips.  
"Well, if you wanted a criminal mastermind's expert opinion, if I was going to invest in this particular system, I would use it to test loyalty. You tell your team members where a certain treasure is at, then set the alarm around it. You get a security alert; it means they went behind your back to steal it. And they don't know you know about their dishonesty. Ta-da, perfect test."

  
"Ran wanted to know if we were in the house," Wolf growled, pacing around the patio.

  
"Or if anyone was in the house," Cinder corrected. "If we didn't already know he was hiding something, this would seal the deal." She glanced at Thorne, who was looking back at her. Before she even phrased the question, he was already shaking his head. "Can you get in without tripping the silent alarm?"

  
Thorne laughed, "You're funny. There are multiple reasons why it's a favorite among thieves, and being almost impossible to not set off without the code is one of them."

  
"Almost?"

  
"Well yeah, no system is ever foolproof. You would need a way to disarm it without getting the security clearance from one of Ran's tech devices."

  
"So it's run electronically?"

  
"Of course. To even begin to hack it, you would need a—" Thorne stopped mid-speech, giving a little laugh. "You would need a Cress."

  
Cinder nodded, putting the gun away and grabbing her keys. " Mr. and Mrs. Benoit-Kesley, are you okay staying here and waiting for the local police to arrive?" When the two nodded, Cinder continued, power-walking toward her car. "Fill the police in on the situation. If something happens, call me immediately. We'll be back as soon as we can. Mr. Thorne and I need to find another member of our team."

  
…

  
"Are you sure Cress won't mind us barging into her house this early in the morning?" Thorne asked as the two drove into Cress's apartment's parking lot.

"She won't mind, especially since we're here to deliver a complex computer problem to solve. She loves doing those."

"What if her boyfriend's here? Agent Linh, I think you're severely underestimating the amount of awkward this situation could hold."

  
Cinder gave a snort. "You really don't need to worry about it." As far as Cinder knew, the closest Cress had gotten to having a guy spend the night at her apartment was three years ago, when she was placed under security detail after an unfortunate incident with her last job.

  
"What if that Kai guy is a huge muscly mass and decides to beat us up for coming at this hour to her house? These arm muscles may look impressive Agent Linh, but it's been a long time since they've seen action." Thorne slammed the car door, waiting for Cinder to get out.

  
Cinder rolled her eyes. "Will you stop worrying? If anyone's going to beat you up, it's me if you keep getting involved in Cress's love life."

  
"Noted," Thorne nodded. The two made their way into the apartment complex. They followed an old woman in the door, arriving right at Cress's apartment. "But I still need more blackmail for getting my Rampion." Cinder rolled her eyes, but Thorne still wasn't done talking. Cinder was starting to think he would never stop. "Also, aren't you concerned about me knowing where Cress lives? I could now break into her apartment if I wanted to."

  
"Good luck with that. Cress's apartment is the most secure residence I've ever seen in my life. No thief is getting in there, much less a so-called criminal mastermind. And it's beyond your radius anyway. You come here alone, I and the entire police force hear about it."

  
"Does the FBI school train you how to make effective threats?"

  
"It's an acquired skill." Cinder finally rang the doorbell. They both waited for a few moments until Cress opened the door.

  
"Uh, hello?" Cress rubbed her eyes, tilting her head to the side. "Did I miss something important?"

  
"Sort of. We need you to hack into an Evret Security System guarding Ran's second apartment," Cinder stated as Cress let the two into her house, shutting the door and locking it, then punching in a security code. "Also, good morning."

  
"Thanks?" Cress squinted at the two. "I feel like I've had this dream before."

  
"You've dreamt about me?" Thorne grinned, looking around Cress's apartment and taking in the empty take-out containers and music posters hung on the walls.

  
"Yeah, but you were definitely wearing a suit last time." Cress rubbed her eyes, pulling her oversized sweatshirt sleeves over her hands. "And there was something about chocolate…"

  
"Okay Sleepy Cress, give me ten minutes, I can get some chocolate, then how about we take a ride on my Rampion? If you could just tell me— "

  
"That's enough," Cinder stepped in, elbowing Thorne in the side. He cursed, holding his side and shaking his head at Cinder. "It's not a dream Cress. We really do need your help."

  
"This is strange," Cress buried herself in her sweatshirt, her hair falling into her face. She flopped down onto her sofa, ruffling a few papers on her coffee table in the process.

  
"Trust me, I know it's weird, but please Cress, wake up. We need your computer skills at their full power level."

  
"But Carswell Thorne is making me breakfast," Cress gave a huge grin.

  
"Cress, wake up. For all of our sakes."

  
"I could splash water on her? That should do the trick," Thorne suggested, pointing to the adjoining kitchen. Cinder shot him a glare that shut him right up. She shook Cress's shoulder again. Cress jolted, her head snapping up.

  
"Good morning," Cinder smiled at her friend.

  
"I…" Cress trailed off, her wide eyes rapidly taking in her surroundings, including a grinning Thorne in her kitchen. "I'm pretending this is a dream, and none of you are here and most definitely do not remember anything I said in the past five minutes." Cress quickly shut and grabbed the open manila folder spread out on her coffee table and hugged it close to her chest. She then turned to Cinder, "Do not tell Iko about this."

  
Cinder laughed, "You know Iko is going to find out sooner or later."

  
"This is really bad," Cress whispered. "I'm going to need more caffeine." Cress got up and scurried to her refrigerator, picking up assorted papers scattered about as she did. She made sure to stay several feet away from Thorne, her blush picking up. "So sorry about the mess, I really never have time to clean. Well, I probably do, but there's this new show on Netflix, and the episodes automatically play, so just please, ignore the mess."

  
"You're fine," Cinder waved away her friend's concerns.

  
"And I've seen much worse, trust me," Thorne hummed. "If you want to see a real mess, visit a master forger’s office. You would not believe the things you could find in there."

  
"Like stolen Venezuelan Dream Dolls?" Cinder raised her eyebrow.

  
"Possibly."

  
Cress opened the fridge, sticking the folder and papers on a shelf. Cinder made herself at home in the living room, Thorne following suit.

  
"The usual to drink?" Cress asked from the kitchen.

  
"Yeah," Cinder called back. Cress rejoined the two, handing Cinder an iced coffee while keeping an AMP for herself and giving one to Thorne. He took it gratefully and Cress pretty much turned into a big ball of blush. Cress thanked her lucky stars he hadn't commented on the embarrassing dream thing again. Oh, man, when Iko found out...

  
"Cress, you ready to go? We should probably be getting back to the job." Cinder looked at her, and Cress shrugged back.

  
"Um, you never told me what type of Evret we're talking? I need to know what supplies to grab." Cress darted her gaze between them.

  
"Black Market type. Silent alarm, the alert goes to police and the owner," Thorne answered.

  
"You'll be working outside, so everything needs to be easily portable," Cinder added.

  
"Gotcha." Cress got up, tugging her sweatshirt down over her gym shorts. "This'll be a pretty straight forward break-in. Lemme grab some stuff." She left, moving into a back room. Thorne and Cinder heard some loud crashing noises. A few minutes later, Cress was back carrying a book bag slung over her shoulders. "Let's go crack one of the hardest security systems on the market at 4:30 in the morning."

  
"Awesome," Thorne stated, jumping up and leading Cinder out of the apartment. Cress locked up, Thorne counting at least three different alarm systems as she did so. He made a mental note to never need to break into Cress’s house. It would be a nightmare.

  
…

  
"So, nice Guardians of Rock sweatshirt," Thorne addressed Cress, his leg bouncing up and down with the weight of the awkward silence in the car.

  
Cress put her hands over her face, letting out a long groan. “Of course I forgot to change out of my pajamas.”

  
Cinder smiled. "It's early, no one's going to care what you're wearing. At least it's the sweatshirt not those Guardians pants you own, with their faces and the spaceships. Those are creepy. The sweatshirt is at least tolerable."

  
"You've got the limited edition 2015 tour GoR PJ pants!" Thorne exclaimed, turning around in the front seat to look back at her. "I tried to get my hands on a pair, but they're crazy hard to find."

  
Cress nodded, removing her hands from over her face. "I used to work tech security at their record label. They're actually the reason I agreed to work with the label, no matter how terrible a decision that may have been in the end. But I did get some cool merch out of it."

  
"You would think that if they were so limited, they would at least make them better looking," Cinder muttered.

  
Thorne tsked and smirked at Cress. "You just can't expect a non-super-fan to understand, am I right?" Cress nodded mutely, her face turning red.

  
"See?" Thorne looked at Cinder. "Cress agrees with me."

  
"You're a bad influence."

  
"Aww, Agent Linh, that's the nicest thing you've said to me all day!"

  
Cinder sighed. "Cress, you see what I have to deal with?" Cress gave a little laugh, tugging on the hem of the sweatshirt. "But I'll let Thorne off this once, since he did bring me coffee this morning."

  
"Coffee?" Cress inquired, peeking her head up between the seats.

  
"See, I'm not all bad," Thorne grinned at her. "I'll even get you some after this, if you would like it."

  
"Uh, no, I don't…I don't like coffee," Cress looked off to the side, avoiding Thorne's stare.

  
"But energy drinks you're fine with?"

  
"The caffeine content is higher, they’re sweeter, and they come in cool cans," Cress trailed off, blushing and looking down.

  
"Okay, okay, I see. But too many of them and jeez. Talk about caffeine overload."

  
"We know," Cinder deadpanned, looking straight ahead at the road. "Don't we Cress?"

  
Cress looked studiously out the window.

  
"It was a bad day, and I told you it would never happen again…"

  
Thorne chuckled, "Can I ask— "

  
"Absolutely not," Cinder and Cress said at the same time, and Cress breathed a sigh of relief. This really was turning into Embarrass Cress Day. Thorne laughed even more, trying to pry, and the banter continued on. It was only a few minutes later that the trio arrived back at Ran's second apartment.

  
"Ready?" Cinder looked back at her team, and they nodded, exiting the car and meeting Wolf and Scarlet back outside the house. "Mr. and Mrs. Benoit-Kesley, this is Agent Cress Darnel, our resident tech expert."

  
"Nice to meet you," Scarlet said, holding out her hand for Cress to shake, Wolf following suit. Wolf held onto Cress's hand, looking into her face.

  
"You can get us into the apartment without tripping the alarm, right? If Ran finds out, he'll run, and I need…I must talk with him."

  
Cress shrank back a bit, staring at her hand dwarfed in Wolf's. "Y-yes, it should be no—no problem at all. I just need to get my supplies set up."

  
"Of course, of course." Wolf swept his arm out, stepping off to the side. Cress nodded and moved forward, shrugging off her backpack. She walked up to the wooden slats of the house and pulled out a black box from her pile of tech stuff.

  
"Are you going to Taser the system and short-circuit it?" Thorne asked, coming to take a closer look.

  
"No, this is a stud finder," Cress said, moving it closer to him so he could see.

  
"That device is obviously broken," Thorne stated. Cress frowned, inspecting the device. "Because you're pointing it at me, and it's not going off."

  
Cinder rolled her eyes as Cress's face got red, "It's for finding the studs in the walls where you can hang pictures and things. Just let Cress get the job done, Mr. Thorne."

  
Thorne held up his hands, "Hey, I can't help stating what’s true." Thorne grinned, and Cinder seriously considered dropping her head into her hands and quitting. But Wolf and Scarlet were standing close, their hands locked together, so Cinder squared her shoulders and nodded at Cress.

  
"Do what you need to do."

  
Cress walked up to the wall and scanned it slowly. Whenever she heard a beep, she made a mark on the side. "One drawback of the Black-Market System is that there needs to be a rod inserted into the side of the house to transmit signals. You interfere with the signal are you're one step closer to hacking the system. A stud finder is used to find the outlier, the beep that isn't spaced out at an even interval." Cress placed a tiny metal dot on the mark.

  
"Now what?" Thorne asked. "We tear down the wall?"

  
"Close," Cress replied, rushing over to her backpack and pulling out a laptop. "We break down the firewall." Cress was instantly typing, placing another metal dot onto the back of her computer. The others watched in silence for a few minutes, Cress's fingers flying over the keys. It was a few minutes more before Cress turned toward the group, her face flushed. "Okay, it's clear to go in."

  
"Are you sure?" Thorne asked. "That didn't take you long at all."

  
"Not the first time I've had to break into this type of system. I had the basics all figured out, so it really wasn't bad at all, just had to modify it for Ran's personal account." Cress shut her computer. Cinder wiped her hands on her jeans, holding up her gun again and motioning for Scarlet to open the door.

  
"Are we sure?" Scarlet looked back at Cinder, and she nodded. The door opened. No one breathed.

  
"So…How do we know it worked?"

  
Cress glanced up at Thorne. "Give it a moment." They all looked at Cress for one beat, two, and then…"Yes!" Cress grinned, pulling out her phone to reveal a message from Evret Security, saying that her security system had been compromised.

  
"You switched the phone numbers," Thorne grinned unabashedly, clapping a hand on Cress's shoulder. The girl's eyes widened. "And this is why I don't trust tech personnel, as that was terrifyingly brilliant."

  
"But what about the message to the cops?" Wolf asked, looking down street and clenching his hands.

  
"Cress, remind me to get you a raise," Cinder smiled, holding up her phone. There was a message from Evret security, telling Cinder that she was needed to report at Ran's apartment because of a burglary.

  
"Okay, I'm erasing the numbers from the system now and replacing them with the originals. I just have to log into the Evert mainframe, which is easy enough with Ran's passcode I found. I'll delete the history, and then we're all clear."

  
"You're the best Cress," Cinder gave her team member a side-arm hug, then walked over to the open door, issuing commands to those standing around.

  
Cress finished up covering her tracks, then walked into the apartment to join the rest of her team, her bag slung over her shoulders. The apartment was pretty nice, bigger than hers with much less cozy-looking furniture. Everything was in shades of dark blue and beige, with fake potted plants dotting the rooms in appropriate places.

  
"Woah!" Thorne shouted from one of the back rooms. "Look at the size of this TV!"

  
Cinder answered right back, "Mr. Thorne, you are supposed to be looking for evidence."

  
"Hey, since it's in his apartment, it's evidence already, right? Think I could convince one of these CSI guys to pack it up and ship it to the FBI: White Collar Division conference room? Just think how cool it would be to watch an action movie with this baby."

  
Cinder responded with a flat out, "No," and Cress ducked into the room they were in, waiting to see where his personal computer was that she could hack.

  
"Over there," Cinder said automatically, pointing to a desk in the corner of the room. Cress sat down, pulled on her latex gloves, and started typing as the others continued combing the room. It took her no time at all to break his password and search through all his files. Nothing. Squeaky clean. No shady photos, no encrypted word documents, no illicit hidden search history. It was very disappointing. Cress did suppose she found a lot of incriminating evidence on his computer at the other apartment, but still, it would have been nice to find at least something here. Cress sighed, keeping her gloves on and going to join the others, who had moved on to searching Ran's bedroom.

  
Cinder and Thorne weren't having much luck either. Thorne was going through Ran's DVD collection, bemoaning the lack of James Bond movies.

  
"C'mon, that guy is a classic! How can you own none of the Bond movies, and every single Monty Python movie? This is the real crime committed here."

  
"Mr. Thorne," Cinder sighed.

  
"Wolf, help me out here. Tell me this disturbing lack of appreciation for the greatest movie collection of all time was something Ran picked up by himself and not something passed through the family.

  
Wolf glanced at Thorne from where he was in Ran's closet, sifting through his brother's obnoxiously large shoe pile. Cress wondered if she should offer to look through them instead, as Wolf's broad shoulders barely fit into the tiny closet. "A Ran thing. I liked all of the explosions."

  
"Of course you did, because they are epic," Thorne stated. "And we haven't even touched on the girls yet." Thorne winked at Wolf, and Wolf grinned back.

  
"Boys, please," Scarlet rolled her eyes at the two.

  
"Love you, honey," Wolf murmured and the room was quiet again as everyone continued searching through the personal belongings of Ran. Cress was looking behind Ran's picture frames, inspecting them for any signs of hidden compartments. She was near the closet, checking behind a photo from Ran’s childhood that showed Wolf frowning at his younger brother. Cress leaned against the wall as she lifted it up an inch. Suddenly, she was falling backwards, the wall no longer supporting her.

  
She heard some shouts, and then large hands were catching her, placing her back on her feet. Cress gave a thank you to Wolf, and he merely nodded in reply before stepping into the small secret room Cress had unearthed. It was about double the size of the tiny closet, barely big enough for all five of them to fit. All the group found was a chair holding several pieces of paper.  
"Nobody touch anything," Cinder stated as she slowly examined the room. She made sure her gloves were securely on her hands, then picked up the papers and placed them in an evidence bag. The group looked around, trying to find anything else of use.

  
"Any other doors?" Cinder asked.

  
"No," Cress replied, after leaning on all the other walls.

  
"This is kinda disappointing," Thorne sighed, moving around the small space. "You spend all the effort creating a secret hidden room, and you don't put anything cool in it."

  
"I have to agree," Scarlet added. "This is just kind of sad. A chair and some papers? What do they even read?"

  
"Doesn't seem like anything too important," Cinder noted, holding the papers up to the light. "They look like order forms from your business.”

  
"Strange," Wolf mumbled, looking over Cinder's shoulder.

  
"Okay, so if this guy spent a bunch of time here, you think he would at least give himself a mini fridge and invest in some air freshener," Thorne said, sniffing the air and waving his arms around to illustrate his point.

  
“I agree,” Scarlet stated, wrinkling her nose.

  
"Wait," Cress breathed. "Does anyone see how white this wall is compared to the others?” The pointed to the wall directly opposite from the door leading to the bedroom.

  
Thorne appeared next to her. He ran his hand down the wall before knocking on it.

  
“Doesn’t that sound a little hollow to you?” Thorne asked. Cress nodded. "Hey, do you still have that stud finder?"

  
"Y-Yes." Cress pulled the device out and handed it over, their hands brushing. Cress blushed. Thorne didn't. He turned to the wall and scanned it, nodding when no beeps issued from the machine.

  
"It's a fake wall inside a hidden room," Thorne said as everyone moved closer to get a better look. "Dang, do I love this job."

  
"He must have got the idea from Emilie," Cinder said, walking so she stood directly in front of the wall. She pushed on it, but no door opened. "Wonder how he got access to this one."  
"Maybe it's a huge vault filled with hidden treasures?" Thorne suggested, his eyes gleaming.

  
"Only one way to find out. Knock it down.”

  
“Seriously?!” Thorne exclaimed, doing a little happy dance. "Hey, muscle-man Wolf, mind breaking down this wall for me? I would do it myself, but this is a new suit, and I would hate for it to get dirty." Cinder rolled her eyes as Wolf obliged, punching a jagged hole in the wall. Cinder and Thorne pulled some of the drywall away from the hole as Wolf shook out his arm. They all peered into the fake room, and everyone caught a glimpse of Ran sitting in a chair.

  
However, their vision was then obscured by Thorne projectile vomiting over everything.


	5. Death of a Brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Just a quick warning, there is mentions of blood and death in the first section. It doesn't go into gory detail, but if you don't want to read it, just skip down to the second session. Thanks, and enjoy reading! Also, I'm on tumblr at royalrampionengineer if you want to chat about this fic with me, or just say hi!

"Hey, Kai," Cinder practically sighed into the phone. "I'm not going to be able to make our lunch date."

"I'm going to miss your stunning presence, but don't worry, we can reschedule for tomorrow, darling," Kai replied.

Cinder wrinkled her nose. "Keep trying Kai, that one makes you sound like a sixty-year old white woman."

Kai laughed, then asked, "So work must be busy, huh? Did something come up? You aren't in more danger than usual, are you?"

"Yes, but no, I'm fine. Well, except for Thorne's vomit splattered all over my clothes, but that's really a minor issue."

"Minor?" Cinder was ninety percent sure Kai's eyebrows were raised. "What is going on there? An apocalypse?"

"Close," Cinder said, glancing back through the cleaned-up and enlarged hole to the second hidden room.

"Do you need a dashing hero to come and save the day with a cup of coffee?"

Cinder gave a little laugh, "I wish, but I don't think coffee or dashing heroes would be welcome on an active crime scene. Anyway, I should probably go. Coffee to wish for, criminals to catch, the usual."

"Okay then, catch those bad guys. See you tonight, my lady?"

Cinder chuckled. "Absolutely not on the nickname, my prince." She mocked, blushing as Kai's deep laugh rang in her ears. "Let's do dinner out tonight. Love you."

"Love you too," Kai said, then hung up. Cinder sighed, stashing her phone in her pocket and retightening her ponytail before stepping back into the second hidden room. Even after being there  
for an hour, it still took everything in her to not gag at the sight. There was Ran all right. Well, not Ran exactly, Cinder amended. Ran's body.

It didn't take a medical student to figure out he was dead, not with the startling amount of blood pooled on the floor. Cinder wanted to retch. Ran may not have been the best person, but he was still didn't deserve to be so brutally murdered. No one deserved that.

Cinder squared her shoulders, rejoining Iko and Scarlet next to the body. After Thorne's accident, everyone thought it best to remove him from the crime scene. Wolf elected to leave as well, or at least Scarlet convinced him to. She said it wasn't good for him to see his brother in such a state, and Cinder agreed. However, he would only leave if Scarlet stayed, answering questions and taking notes for her husband. The other member of Cinder’s crew, Cress, accompanied the boys back to Ran's living room, as her skills weren't necessarily suited for analyzing crime scenes, especially not ones with this much blood.

However, Cinder had to admit, it wasn't exactly in her skill set either. Homicide was way out of her comfort zone, not to mention her jurisdiction. But since she knew the most about Ran's case, her, Iko, and Scarlet got the clearance to stay.

"So, what's the cause of death?" Cinder asked, watching the coroner inspect the body. Cinder wrinkled her nose at the smell, but the coroner didn't even blink an eye as he hovered over the rotting body. He stared up at her for a beat, two, before turning back to the body.

"That's classified information. Only the lead detective can know, then distribute it if she so wishes." The coroner's blue-grey eyes glanced up to the girls, before going back to the bloody mess sitting in the chair in front of him.

"I am the lead detective," Cinder crossed her arms.

The coroner huffed. "Not the one I report to."

"Good thing she has permission to know from the one you do report to," said a voice behind Cinder as she felt arms wrap around her back.

"Winter! Or should I say, Agent Hayle." Cinder grinned, turning around and giving her longtime friend a proper hug.

"It's so good to see you again! It's been way too long!" Winter hugged her friend for a moment longer.

"Of course. I'm sorry the circumstances are so bad, but I'm very glad that, out of all the agents, you were the one working on this case."

"Me too. I'm honored to be working with your team. Iko," Winter turned to the other girl. "Great to see you again as well! And you are?" Winter turned her big beautiful eyes to Scarlet.

"Scarlet Benoit-Kesley, sister-in-law to the deceased." The two shook hands.

"I'm sorry for your loss. We will do everything we can to catch his killer." Scarlet nodded at Winter's words. They made room for Winter in their little semi-circle. Everyone stared at the coroner and the body still sitting in the chair. "We do have a killer to catch, don't we?" Winter made eye contact with the coroner. "A for-sure homicide?"

Cinder was waiting for a snappy comeback about stating the obvious, but the coroner's eyes softened as he simply said, "Yes. The victim was not physically capable of inflicting such damage upon himself."

"Plus, look at the way he's sitting," Iko added, looking at her friends. "Someone had to place him there specifically. He was staring right at the wall we entered through. Someone knew we would enter through that wall, and not the trap door Ran and the killer must have entered and exited through. This is way too staged for a suicide."

"And way too thought out for Ran to pull it off by himself," Scarlet muttered, her eyes trailing down Ran's body.

"Do you think a group pulled this off?" Cinder asked.

Winter shrugged. "Any evidence to suggest it, Jacin?"

The coroner shook his head, "It's a possibility a group could have inflicted this much damage, or it could have been one strong person. I can tell you for certain when I analyze the body in my lab."

"Is there anything you can tell us about it now?" Cinder stared down at Jacin. He held her gaze for a moment, before looking at Winter for approval. Winter nodded her head.

"He's been dead for around 24 hours, based on the decomposition of the flesh. As far as I can tell without a chemical analysis, all the lacerations, stab, and slash wounds were inflicted ante-or peri-mortem." At the blank stare of the non-homicide detectives, Jacin frowned and explained, "Meaning they were inflicted before or during his death. Not after. When I first saw the body, I entertained the idea of our killer being a wild animal, but the slashes are too irregular and strategic to be anything but human."

"Strategic?" Scarlet put her hands on her hips. "What is strategic about any of his wounds? His body is practically torn apart!"

Jacin clicked his tongue on the room of his mouth. "Incorrect. As shown by the sheer volume of lacerations, the killer no doubt felt lots of rage toward the victim. The slashes and stabs aren't controlled, but all of the deep, serious wounds were done with purpose. Strategic." Jacin pointed to the body as he listed off his evidence. "Deep cut to the left anterior femoral region stopped the victim from escaping. The wound in his abdominal area ensured he was incapable of fighting back, as well as being in a lot of pain. And finally, the slash at the left collarbone reached an artery, accounting for most of the blood on the floor, and what is probably the cause of death. The rest of the cuts are, essentially, superficial, showing the great deal of rage held inside the killer. But whoever murdered him definitely knew what they were doing."

"Woah," Iko stated. "If I get murdered, I want you to do the autopsy." Jacin just stared at her, his mouth turned down, but Winter laughed, giving her friend a small smile.

"He is pretty amazing, isn't he?" At the compliment, Jacin's pale skin grew a shade redder, and he focused back on the corpse in front of him. Cinder and Iko looked at each other. Cinder raised her eyebrows, and Iko shrugged in reply.

"Anything else about the body we should know?" Scarlet stared down Jacin.

"I found some particulates in some of the slashes and stabs, so as soon as I'm back in my lab, I'll get them tested. Any positive results will be sent to Detective Hayle."

"And forwarded on to Agent Linh and her team," Winter smiled at the group. Cinder let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you so much for not kicking us out of the case. It really means a lot. And I'll have Cress send over all our files on Ran as soon as we get back to the office. Which we should probably do soon, as we'll work better with our resources there."

"Sounds good. Keep each other updated?"

Cinder ignored the little scoff Jacin gave. "Of course." Cinder gave Winter one last hug before exiting with Scarlet and Iko. They walked to the living room in silence, each of them taking a nice big gulp of fresh air.

They found the others sprawled on the couch. Well, Thorne was sprawled on the couch, with Cress sitting as close to the edge as possible. Wolf was on the other side of her, squeezed into the corner of the sofa. His gaze followed Cress's finger as she pointed to something on her laptop. Even Thorne was somewhat paying attention to what was on the screen.

"What's going on?" Cinder asked as she walked behind the couch to get a view of the screen, Iko following after. Scarlet made the way to her husband, rubbing circles on his back while still trying to figure out what Cress was doing on her computer.

"We were just about to get you," Cress whispered, all her attention on the screen. "One of the motion-activated cameras I had installed in Ran and Wynn's apartment just pinged."

"Couldn't it be a guard we still have watching the perimeter?" Iko asked.

"In the bedroom?"

"Ah," Iko murmured, everyone silent as a black-and-white camera feed came into focus. A man was crouched on the floor, the door to the A/C duct above him still swinging on its hinges. The man stood up, and the group gave a collective intake of breath.

"Wynn," Cinder cursed. "Iko! Car! Now!" She yelled, already racing for the exit. "Two police squads, follow me!" She bellowed as she frantically unlocked her car, stuck the keys in the ignition, and peeled out of the apartment's parking lot with Iko, the rest of the police following close behind.

…

"This is a first for me," Thorne commented as Cinder and Iko walked into the room. "I've never been on this side of the interrogation glass before."

"How's it feel?" Cinder glanced at Thorne.

"This side is much more comfortable. I get an actual seat with adequate back support! Although, more donuts would be appreciated. Hint, hint."

Iko laughed, "You'll have to call Emilie Bakery for that one."

Thorne looked at Cinder, his eyes going wide and mouth dropping into a pout. "All I need is a phone and permission. Pretty please? With a donut on top?"

"If we weren't about to hear and help an interrogation, maybe."

Thorne gave a huge grin, "Did you hear that Iko? We got a maybe!" They hi-fived, and Cinder gave a groan as they cheered in delight.

"Shush, you two." Cinder held up a hand, and the three watched as Winter entered the interrogation room on the other side of the one-way glass.

Thorne gave a low whistle. "Agent Linh, I am constantly impressed by how attractive your friends are. Seriously, how did she fall into police work and not get picked up by a modeling agency?"

"See, Winter's step-mom abused her as a child," Cinder patted her right cheek, and Thorne glanced through the window at Winter's scars. "She swore she would devote her life to stopping those like her stepmother from hurting others. And she did. Normally she works in hostage negotiation, as she's really good at putting people at ease, but when there are no cases, she helps out with homicide. Sadly, they're always overwhelmed."

"Wow, she's amazing," Thorne stared through the glass, his eyes wide.

"Heck yeah, she is!" Iko said, putting a hand on her hip. "Now, just watch as she gets this scumbag."

"Hello, Wynn Anntol. I'm Detective Hayle, and I'm going to ask you some questions." Winter sat down across from the scowling man, placing her hands in her lap.

"Wow," Thorne whispered. "She's much nicer at this than you are. You would have already been aggressively questioning me by this point." Cinder hit him with her elbow.

"According to our files, you are the lead co-suspect in two different robbery cases. That means the judge isn't going to be nice to you if you don't confess to your crimes." Winter looked at Wynn, but he didn't meet her eyes. "You, of course, have every right to stay silent. However, we have undeniable evidence against you for the Torin Shipping Industries and Emilie Bakery heists. Perhaps the judge might be more lenient if you- "

"No, no, I'll talk." Wynn snapped his gaze up to meet Winter's, and his leg started bouncing on the ground. "I have to. Talk. About Ran's killer." At the last word, Wynn looked at the ground.

"You do?" Winter raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that why I'm here?"

"Well, yes, but it normally takes a little more prodding before getting to that point in the conversation."

"Do you want me to keep my mouth shut longer?"

"No, go on ahead," Winter nodded.

Wynn took a big breath, running his palms up and down the top of his legs. "You're recording this, right?" Winter nodded. "First off, I didn't kill Ran."

"What's your alibi for Thursday night?"

"I was having dinner with some friends. They wanted to reconnect. You can check with them and the restaurant as well." Wynn proceeded to list off a couple names, Winter nodding at each one. Cinder scribbled down what he said, then watched as Winter motioned for him to continue.

Wynn looked straight ahead at the wall behind Winter's head. "Have you come across a Mr. Strom in your search?"

Thorne raised his eyebrows, looking at Cinder. "Have we?"

"No," Cinder muttered, writing the name and then circling it. "We'll check with Cress after this."

Thorne turned his attention back to the interrogation. Winter shook her head. "That name doesn't sound familiar. Should we have?"

"Well, yeah. He's the one who killed Ran."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Listen, lady detective. I've been having some issues with money lately. Got to pay the bills, and that's pretty hard to do when you can't land a decent job. So yeah, I agreed to help steal a few things with my friend, get a nice little chunk of change. So, one night, we get cocky, decide to steal a few diamonds from an uppity Head of Security at Beautimisa. We go in, grab the jewelry from his room, and are about to make our exit when Strom comes out of nowhere, yelling and screaming at us to give him back his things and get off his property. We surrender the diamonds, of course, and plead with him to not call the cops. Well, the whole time we're asking him, the guy's shaking and even growling at us, his face getting redder and redder. So, we split, dropping the jewels and crossing our fingers he doesn't report us."

"And how does this relate to him supposedly killing Ran Kesley?"  
Wynn crossed his arms, scowling. "Well, after I and Ran had gotten far from Strom's house, we looked at our gloves and there was this white power covering them. Definitely a drug, if our noses are anything to go by. No doubt Strom was hiding the drugs in the same place he hid his diamonds. I bet he knew we saw the drugs and decided to quiet us the good ole fashioned way. He was going to come for me after Ran. He definitely had enough anger to kill us, and he was a head of security. He had the technical training."

"We're going to need proof of your story. The gloves need to be tested, and we'll have my team run through security footage of nearby businesses to confirm your story."

"Of course." Ran nodded, then made to get up. "So, I'm done here, right? I can go home now?"

"Sorry, but until we get solid proof that you are not lying and that you for-certain did not kill Ran Kesley, you will be kept in police custody. Plus, you still have the charges of robbery keeping you in jail." Ran sank back into his chair, his scowl deepening. "One more thing, Mr. Annotel. We have reason to believe Ran was involved with a gang of some sorts. Do you know anything about that?"

Wynn looked to the side, his foot tapping on the floor. "No. He never mentioned anything about it to me."

"Really?" Winter said, opening the folder in front of her. "That's strange because there's no information available on you before your thirteenth birthday anywhere online. We ran across a similar  
problem with Ran's files, as well as Wolf Benoit-Kesley's, who was a known member of Ran's gang. Do you know why you would share that characteristic?"

Wynn coughed, staring down at the floor. "I don't see why it's any of your business even if I did know."

"Were you in the same gang as Ran Kesley?" Wynn still refused to meet Winter's eye. This time, he stayed quiet at Winter's questioning. "Excuse me, Mr. Annotel?" His mouth still stayed shut.

Cinder sighed, handing Thorne her notepad. "This might go on for a while, and there's too much work to be done for all three of us to waste time here. Iko, go to the local police and convince them to run tests on those gloves. Tell them it's an FBI emergency, and if they have questions direct them to Agent Hayle. Mr. Thorne, go give Cress the information on this notepad, and see what she can dig up about this Strom guy. I'll stay here, helping assist Winter." Iko nodded, her coat and keys already in her hands as she waved goodbye.

"Sounds good, boss," Thorne saluted, walking out of the interrogation room, jogging until he arrived outside Cress's door.

"Knock, knock." Thorne leaned against the doorway, watching as Cress jumped and quickly exited the window on her computer.

"Thorne!"

He raised an eyebrow, walking further into the office. "Did I just see you playing mahjong instead of working?"

Cress spun around in her chair, her fingers playing with the ends of her hair. "It helps me de-stress. Everyone deserves a break from looking into the lives of criminals all day."

"Makes sense." Thorne leaned against Cress's desk, giving her a lazy smile. "Hey, nice screensaver." Thorne pointed to Cress's computer screen, where a picture of Cinder, Iko, and Cress was shown. They were lounging on a couch, all three in the throes of laughter. "Very cute."

"Thanks," Cress blushed, smiling as she looked at the screen. "It's right after we solved our first case. Cinder took us back to her place for celebratory ice cream. It was a really fun night."

"I have no doubt. I'm just surprised it isn't of you and your boyfriend, as I knew my past girlfriends tended to do that. Is he the background of another one of these computers?"

"My-my who?"

Thorne frowned at her confusion. "Your boyfriend. Kai." Thorne enunciated slowly.

"Kai's not my—I don't have a boyfriend. Why-why would you think that?"

Thorne heaved a great sigh. "Agent Linh told me! If she's lied about this, what else has she lied to me about?! I'm never getting those Emilie Bakery pastries, am I?"

"Cinder told you I was dating Kai?!" Cress's eyebrows were furrowed, her face red.

"So, you are dating Kai?"

"No! I'm not dating anyone! Cinder explicitly told you I was dating Kai?"

"No, but when I confronted her about my theory, she didn't tell me I was wrong! See, I heard you on the phone when you mentioned his name, and I figured the only logical explanation was that you were dating."

Cress opened her mouth, then closed it. "And why were you asking about my dating life?"

"For blackmail, of course. Gotta find my precious Rampion somehow." Thorne grinned. Cress just stared at him for a solid minute. Thorne cleared his throat, then said, "So, if he's not your boyfriend, who the aces is Kai?"

Cress looked away, fingers coming to rest on her keyboard. "It's not my place to say. You should ask Cinder about it, uh, again."

"This is getting ridiculous. He's some secret agent, isn't he?" Thorne's grin started coming back as his leg started bouncing. "Is he one of those agents that work in investigating extraterrestrial beings? Did you guys have a case involving aliens? Tell me you had a case involving aliens."

Cress giggled, tucking her legs beneath her on her chair. "No, but we did have one where we had to deal with an overzealous moon rock collector."

"Very boring compared to actual aliens."

"I agree," Cress looked down, her brow furrowing. "Not to kick you out or anything, because it's nice having you here and seeing—talking with you, but well, is there a reason you came here? An FBI reason?"

"Oh yeah," Thorne stood up, backing up a pace. "Agent Linh wanted me to ask you to look into a few things Wynn said during the interview."

"Thanks," Cress took the proffered journal, then pulled up a few programs on her computer.

"She wanted you to focus on pulling up dirt on that Strom guy."

"Yeah, I can see that by the huge circle and exclamation points around his name," Cress replied, eyes focused on the computer. "I'm running his name through the prison data base now. Nothing. Looks like he's clean. Google, it is." Cress took a big gulp of tea, Thorne looking on in fascination. Cress looked at the notepad, then back to the screen. "Wynn wasn't lying. He was head of security at Beautimisia. Ooh, ex-head of security, apparently. He accepted a security position at Firehardened Co. just a few months ago."

Thorne leaned in closer to the computer. "Anything else interesting?"

"Yes…" Cress trailed off as all her attention focused in on the screen. "He filed some disturbance complaints with the local police. A lot of complaints, actually." Cress's eyes flicked back and forth as she scrolled down the screen. Thorne frowned when Cress's scrolling became too fast for him to read, and instead focused on watching Cress instead. "He really doesn't like young adults, apparently. All the complaints seem to be centered on a group of vandal boys."

Thorne blinked when Cress grabbed the notepad and started frantically scribbling names. Thorne looked at the screen, focusing on Ran Kesley's name repeated on the police reports. "You think these other guys are part of the gang?"

"Most likely," Cress finished up, handing the pad to Thorne. "I'll search them and their histories if you can run these names by Cinder and the Benoit-Kesleys."

"Will do, keep doing your scary brilliant work." Thorne grinned down at her, then left, whistling the Imperial March as he headed towards the interrogation room.

As soon as he was gone, Cress turned back to her computers, a blush still prominent on her cheeks.

...

A few hours later, Cinder was back in her office, serving coffee to a tired looking Winter, Iko, and Thorne. Cress was curled up in a chair, laptop open.

"Well," Winter sighed. "That interrogation could have gone better."

"Hey," Iko bumped her shoulder with Winter's. "You did great. It's not your fault he completely clammed up when you mentioned the gang."

Cinder took a sip from his mug, then nodded at Winter. "I agree with Iko. You got us a solid lead."

"Which Cress was able to brush up and multiply," Thorne stated. He grinned at Cress, and she tried even harder to bury herself in her chair.

"Thank you, by the way," Winter turned toward Cress. "You're much more efficient than the tech department at the police station. And thank you all, for letting me hijack your office for the case."

"Of course," Cinder smiled. "Nothing beats FBI resources."

"Or their coffee," Thorne smirked. "So much better than prison coffee."

Cinder rolled her eyes as Winter giggled. Iko scanned the room, "Anyway, what's our next move? Besides kicking criminal butts."

"We'll keep trying to crack Wynn by showing him the names Cress found. We can't bring in Strom yet, and we don’t have enough to get a search warrant. All the evidence is too circumstantial until we get results back from the lab on those gloves."

Thorne sighed, "Can't we just like walk up to Strom and be like, hey, did you murder Ran Kesley? Or at least get his phone records or something?"

"Without a subpoena, no," Winter replied. "And we don't want to go up to him and start questioning him, in case he actually did murder Ran and decides to flee once he hears the police are onto him."

"We could meet him at a bar or something, see if alcohol loosens his tongue to an incognito agent."

"Except we don't know if he's a bar type of guy," Cinder frowned.

"Actually, I might have a solution," Cress piped up, looking up from her laptop. "I was looking more into Strom, and it turns out he's been invited to a huge gala held by Firehardened Co. tomorrow night. The invites were all done publicly over social media. We could casually question him there."

"Except there's no guarantee he's going," Winter said.

"Oh, he's going," Thorne stated. "He's new to the company. He's not passing a chance to brush shoulder with higher-ups in the company and earn a promotion."

"Okay," Cinder curled both hands around her mug. "So, two of us attend the gala undercover, talk to Strom, and see if he reveals something incriminating. There's a good chance this won't work."

"But I've worked with less before," Winter smiled at the group. "We'll give it a shot. If anything, it'll be a good possibility to talk with his co-workers and get more information about his personality."

"True," Iko said. "But how are we getting in? Can you get us invites Cress?"

She frowned down at her computer. "Unfortunately, no. It would be illegal for me to hack into their page and give us an invite, not to mention suspicious. And I would commandeer tickets from people who aren't going, but I don't have that information. I only know who's invited."

"And who is invited?" Cinder asked.

"It looks like there's a broad spectrum of people invited. All the higher-ups in Firehardened, a bunch of CEOs from people they work with. Oh, Torin's invited, Cinder. There's also just a bunch of millionaires, important political people, more rich people…wow, there's a whole group from the police department, looks like your boss is on here, Winter. Can you sneak an invite from him?"

"My boss is a good boss, but he's not the friendliest creature. That's a strong no."

"Is Harrison Vargas on the list?" Thorne asked.

"The son and sole heir of Vargas Cars?" Cress's brow furrowed. "Doesn't look like him or his father are on the list."

Cinder looked at Thorne. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, I happen to have a jacket that belongs to Harrison. I'm pretty sure with that invite list they would let in Harrison and a date, or someone pretending to be Harrison and his date. I also happen to be the same age as Harrison, and since I know for a fact he has been traveling for several years now, so no one at that party would be able to recognize him. It would be very easy to pretend to be him."

Winter hummed. "If we ignore how you obtained the jacket, that could actually work."

"See, I'm not just here for my looks. Now, all I need is a date. Unless you ladies will let me roam free in a party full of rich people."

“Not happening,” Cinder stated. “So who is going with him?”

"I can't," Winter said. "Not with my boss being there. He would blow my cover."

"As much as I would love to, I'm out as well," Iko sighed. "I talked with Winter's boss today when I went to check on the gloves. He would surely recognize me. So, that leaves…"

"Me," Cinder groaned. "An evening pretending to be Mr. Thorne's date. Just what I've always dreamed of." Thorne beamed, about to speak when Cress interrupted.

"Actually, Cinder, you can't go either. Torin will be there, and will no doubt see you."

"But he's seen Thorne before!"

"Yeah, like once. And I'll be wearing glasses and a wig to look like Harrison. Trust me, he won't recognize me."

"But he will know you Cinder," Iko added. Cinder cursed.

"So actually, that leaves…" Thorne trailed off as all eyes looked toward Cress.

Cinder crossed her arms. "You can't take Cress. She's never been out in the field before."

"C'mon, she'll be safe, she's smart. And she's our only option," Iko looked at Cinder.

Cinder was still scowling. "It's up to Cress."

Cress looked wildly between all the faces in the room. "I-I guess?"

Thorne grinned, then reached out to take her hand. "Ready to be my date, Cress?"

Cress gulped.


	6. The Gala, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cress and Thorne attend a gala undercover to catch Strom, a suspect in the murder of Ran Kesley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took such a long time! Life happened, but here we are! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Please comment and tell me your thoughts on it! Also, you can visit me on tumblr at royalrampionengineer if you want updates about when I'll post the next chapter. Thanks for reading!

“Already asking me to take off my shirt, huh? Have to say, I’m impressed with your forwardness Agent Linh,” Thorne grinned as he checked himself out in the FBI’s dressing room. 

Cinder groaned, “For the second time already, just let me attach this microphone to your chest without you making it unprofessional.”

“Agent Linh, may I remind you that you’re the one who asked me to strip.”

“That is absolutely not what I said,” Cinder grumbled as she taped a microphone and small recording device to Thorne’s toned chest. 

“The implication was still there,” Thorne winked.

“Of course I get stuck with you while Iko gets Cress to get ready for the gala.” Cinder taped the microphone on his chest, ensuring it was secure. “Okay, you’re good to put your shirt back on now.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want Agent Linh?”

“Yes, without a doubt.” Thorne gave a fake pout as he buttoned the white shirt up, winding a tie around the collar. Cinder rolled her eyes. “Now, a few things before we meet up with the other two and send you out into the field. First thing, remember you are on the job. Meaning no alcohol.” Thorne opened his mouth to speak, but Cinder cut him off. “It’s an open bar, but not open to you. And I’ll know if you drink any, because you will be recorded the entire time.” She pointed to the recording device strapped to his chest. “This’ll allow us to record enough evidence on Strom to get a warrant. Make sure it is clear it’s him when you question him.” Cinder straightened Thorne’s tie, giving it a final tug. “Which it shouldn’t. Got it?”

“Aye aye agent.” Thorne saluted her.

“Good,” Cinder nodded. “And please, keep an eye on Cress. If she gets hurt because of you, I’m sending you straight back to prison, no questions asked.” Cinder clapped once and Thorne gulped. “Now let’s go meet with Iko and Cress. Hopefully they’re ready.” Thorne nodded, and they walked out of the dressing room to find Cress ready to go.

“Wow, that didn’t take you long at all,” Cinder commented. “Mr. Drama King over here slowed us up. But at least he does look like Harrison Vargas now, thanks to the fake wig.” 

“Hey, perfection takes time. Or perhaps not, because wow Cress, look at you in that dress.” 

“What?” Cress instantly replied, her eyes going wide.

“Uh, I mean,” Thorne scratched the back of his head. “It looks cute on you.”

“T-thanks,” Cress blushed. Iko gave her a grin and nudge.

“All right,” Cinder stated. “The gala’s going to start soon, so we need to head over there.” 

“Hate to break it to you, but I can’t go yet. Still need my Harrison jacket, remember?”

“Right,” Cinder nodded, then motioned them all to follow her. “I had Evidence bring it up from your box of supposedly-stolen goods downstairs.”

“Wait, you are keeping my stuff downstairs in this building?”

“Some of it,” Cinder shrugged. “The rest is in Archives. Don’t even think about getting into it, it’s under 24/7 surveillance and guards.” 

“Fine,” Thorne muttered. “But if I really wanted to…” Cinder gave him a level stare, pointing at his tracker watch. “-or not.” 

“Good plan,” Iko smiled, patting Thorne on the shoulder. Cinder led them to her office, where she pulled out the navy vest with the vary prominent Vargas Cars crest on it. 

“Oh yeah,” Thorne smirked, sliding the vest on. It fit perfectly. “I forgot how good this feels.” 

“And it’ll feel even better when you apprehend a murder suspect in it,” Cinder reminded him, then addressed Thorne and Cress. “Remember, get in and get out. The less time in the field, the better. Just get us enough evidence to issue a warrant. Cress, you’re Harrison’s assistant, coming to make sure he keeps himself clear of any scandals. Mr. Thorne, you’re Harrison who just so happened to be in the area, if anyone asks. Iko and I will be hidden outside, ready to rush in if anything happens. Got it?” Everyone nodded, and Cinder sighed, running a hand down her ponytail. “All right, let’s go get Strom.”

…

“This,” Iko said, stuffing another éclair into her mouth, “Is by far the best surveillance van I’ve ever been in.” 

“You can thank Emilie Bakery for that one,” Cinder smiled, unwrapping a cupcake. “I’m just glad we ran into her and found out she was catering here. It makes us blend in so much better than if we were in that old electric utilities van. Plus, it smells so much better.”

“And the free desserts.” 

“Agreed,” Cinder stated through a mouthful of chocolate cupcake. She leaned back in her seat, surveying the monitors set up. “So, you do think we can pull this off?”

Iko grabbed another éclair. “Truth or lie?”

Cinder chuckled. “Lie.” 

“We’re going to totally rock it. Our criminal and agent whose first in-the-field job this is will somehow miraculously get all the information we need to get a warrant, which will incriminate Strom as the guy who murdered Ran, and this isn’t all an elaborate goose chase.” 

“Very comforting Iko, thanks.”

“Welcome,” Iko laughed, licking off a bit of chocolate from her fingers. “Hey Cinder, they’re getting close to the entrance I think. I just hate that there wasn’t enough time to set up visuals on the building. Want to turn on the mics anyway?”

“Yeah, good call. And I know, but we’ll just have to trust Cress.” Cinder nodded, and Iko pressed a button, allowing the two to listen into whatever Cress and Thorne were saying. 

“-and they’ve got these mini cinnamon rolls that fit into the palm of my hand. I could eat them for the rest of my life. Little swirled pieces of heaven. And my stars, I haven’t even touched on their eclairs. There’s no way a single person could make something that good. I can’t believe you’ve never been to the bakery. I’ll have to take you sometime, maybe Kai could join us?”

Cress gave an annoyed hum. “For the last time, I am not telling you who Kai is. That’s an issue to bring up with Cinder.”

“He knows about Kai?” Iko turned and gave Cinder an amused grin.

“It’s a long story,” Cinder frowned, crossing her arms. 

“Oh shoot,” Thorne said over the microphone. “I almost forgot.”

“What?” Cress’s voice came over, sounding concerned. There was some shuffling. 

“Ah-ha! Here Cress, put this on before anyone around us in line notices.”

Cress gave a gasp. “Mr. Thorne? What in the galaxy…”

Cinder slammed her hands down onto one of the countertops in the van. “What is he doing now? I swear, if he ruins this mission…” She never got to continue her thought, however, as then Thorne cleared up everyone’s confusion. Somewhat. 

“C’mon Cress, the whole you’re-my-assistant-plan was weak and you know it. No one would believe that, everyone would think you were just my eye candy. Which would be bad.” 

“Mr. Thorne, I don’t think Cinder would approve- “ 

“Of course I don’t approve!” 

“-and don’t you think this is uncalled for?”

Thorne gave a huff. “Nonsense. Everything in a mission is called for. Even this awful red wig I’m wearing. Now, please, Cress, we’re almost there and—“ 

“Tickets please?” Came a third voice. 

“What is he doing?” Cinder stood up, making her way to the exit. “That’s it, I’m going out there and stopping them. This was a bad idea.” 

“Hold on Cinder, not yet. Let’s try and find out what’s going on first.”

“I don’t like this,” Cinder muttered, sitting herself back down.

“Either do I, but they’re the best we’ve got.” 

The two were silent for a moment as they listened.

“Hello there, Harrison Vargas, sole heir to Vargas Cars here. Now, I have to apologize. I completely misplaced my invitation. See, my wife and I weren’t planning to come, but we just happened to be in the area and thought, ‘Well, why the hell not go?’ Isn’t that right sweetie?”

“Oh, uh-“ Cress started to say.

“Right, so I’m sure you can excuse the lack of invitation for me, Harrison Vargas, and my wife?”

“Of course Mr. and Mrs. Vargas, please follow the usher into the gala.” 

Cinder and Iko looked at each other. 

“Did he just marry Cress?” Iko asked.

“I think he did,” Cinder sat back in her chair, stunned. “This was not in the plan.” She ran her hand over her ponytail.

Thorne’s voice came back over the mic. “Thank you, now—“ The mic abruptly cut off, leaving only static. 

“Cress? Mr. Thorne?” Cinder asked, leaning forward. 

Iko looked at her funny. “You know they can’t hear you right?”

Cinder sighed, leaning back and crossing her arms. “Yeah, I know. There must be some surveillance scrambling machine set up to block any sort of secret communication inside the gala, which is why the mics cut out. At least it should still record any conversation with Strom they have.”

“So where does that leave us?” Iko asked her friend, grabbing a chocolate cupcake.

“Texting Cress to tell her the news, waiting until they come out of the gala safe and sound, or until we get an emergency call from the two.” 

“Let’s hope it’s the former.” 

Cinder just gave a humorless laugh, biting into an éclair.

…

There were moments Cress wondered what in the world her life was, and stepping into a high-class gala wearing a gorgeous dress on the arm of her husband and master criminal Carswell Thorne was one of them. 

In the back of her mind, she knew she should be looking around the gala, cataloguing exit points, the number of people in the room, and trying to find Strom in the crowd. However, Cress could not stop staring at the hunk of a diamond on the gold band around her left ring finger. 

She looked up at Thorne—Harrison, she had to remind herself. Harrison, her husband. 

Cress took a deep breath in and let Thorne lead her through the crowd of people. She saw a buffet table to her right, holding a host of fancy appetizers. To the left, a large open dancing space with a stage set up at the front. Cress tried to get Throne’s attention again, but he was actively avoiding it, not looking at her as he led her across the large open space to a stand-up table in a far corner of the gala. 

Only when the two made sure they weren’t in the earshot of anyone did Thorne look at Cress, waiting for her to ask him the question. 

“Did you steal this?” Cress blurted out, and Thorne jerked back, his eyes widening. 

“No, not at all!” Thorne held his hands up in a placating gesture. Cress squinted her eyes at him. “It’s a fake. I found it in the clearance section of one of the department stores Agent Linh took me shopping at. I made a couple adjustments to it once I slipped it into the purchase of the rest of my clothes, of course, but it’s not stolen.” 

“But…” Cress started, holding her hand at arm’s length and looking at the ring. “Why?”

“Hey, you never know when you’re going to need a wedding ring. It’s always a good cover story. Look how much it came in handy today.” Thorne gave a grin, and Cress just responded with a wide-eyed stare. He gave a clap, then hooked his arm around Cress’s elbow. She shifted so she was touching the least amount of his arm as possible. Thorne’s eyebrows furrowed. “Now, c’mon, we’ve still got a mission to accomplish.”

“Right, right,” Cress muttered, visibly shaking her head. “I can do this.”

Thorne smiled down at her, “That’s the spirit!” The two stepped from the deserted area, nearing the more crowded dance floor. “If you were a psychotic killer attending a fancy socialite event, where would you hang out?”

“Shh,” Cress murmured, frantically looking around. “He could hear you.” 

“But you know what he looks like right? You could alert me if he was near.” 

Cress looked off to the side. “I’ve only seen a few photos of him, and they weren’t that high of quality. But I should be able to recognize him.”

Thorne frowned. “Okay, well that’s good to know.” The two fell quiet in their trek across the room as a group of couples passed right in front of them. “So Honey,” Thorne said loudly, noticing the large amount of people surrounding them. “Where would you like to go?” 

Cress looked wildly around, trying to think of where Strom would be. “The buffet table?” 

“Sounds perfect!” As soon as they reached the long table of fancy looking food, Thorne unlatched himself from Cress and picked up a triangle cracker with a swirl of slimy meat and a drizzle of a green paste on top of it. He held it for a moment before placing the hand unencumbered with food on Cress’s shoulder. Thorne leaned down until he was close enough to whisper in her ear. 

Cress stiffened, the thought once again running through her head that she was at a gala with the attractive criminal Carswell Thorne who was leaning down to whisper in her ear while they pretended to be married.

She didn’t think she was going to survive this night. 

Honestly, Cress didn’t know what to expect when Thorne finally spoke. “Do you know what the aces this food is?”

Cress gave a snort of laugher before quickly covering her mouth with her hand. Her shoulders dropped and released their tension. Thorne looked at her, his mouth turning up in a smile at the sight of her red face. 

Thorne leaned back, holding the cracker up and frowning. He poked the slightly-gelatinous meat on top. “It’s a fair question.” 

Cress peered at it. “Salmon, I think.” 

Thorne nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s acceptable.” He popped the whole thing into his mouth, brushing his hands together to get rid of the crumbs. His face scrunched up as he swallowed the cracker whole. “It’s cold!” 

“Were you expecting it to be warm?” Cress crossed her arms, giving Thorne a small smile.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be hot, but at least room temperature.” He pointed an accusing finger at the tray of food. “That was chilly.”

“Try something else then?” Cress suggested, moving down the table. Thorne followed, picking up what looked like a carved cucumber slice filled with crab. As Cress perused the food options, she had the startling reminder that she was actually on the job. She had a mission to accomplish, and it certainly wasn’t idly chatting with Thorne. She scanned the room once more, still failing to find anyone remotely looking like Strom. 

“Here Cress, try this,” Thorne said, tapping her on the shoulder and holding out a cracker with a spread of cheese. 

Cress held up her hands and frowned, “Oh, no, that’s okay. I’m not really hungry.” 

Thorne shrugged and ate the cracker himself. The two were silent for a moment. Thorne wiped his hands on the top of his pants. “Well, this is awkward.”

“Yeah,” Cress replied, looking out at the dance floor, but not seeing Strom anywhere in sight. “Do you see Strom anywhere?”

Thorne turned toward her, his grin coming back. “Not at all. He hasn’t come by the food once. Any more guesses on where he could be?”

Cress hummed in thought, resting her closed hand under her chin. She jumped back when she felt cold metal graze her chin. Oh right, the wedding ring. Thorne’s mouth quirked up at her fumble, and Cress’s face flamed red. She had to think of somewhere for them to go. She frantically tried to remember all the spy movies she had watched, thinking of where the showdown always came with the villain. 

“The dance floor?” Cress blurted out, before realizing the implications of her statement. People didn’t just stand on the dance floor, especially if they were married. 

Thorne gave a huge grin, then bent forward in a ridiculously extravagant bow. He asked Cress, “My lovely wife, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the dance floor?”

“Oh, uh, sure?” Cress took his offered hand, and Thorne immediately whisked them to the dance floor. There were already a good number of couples there.

Thorne hummed along to the melody coming from the stereos as he placed one of his hands on Cress’s back. The other hand he interlaced with Cress’s hand, holding it up in the air. Cress placed her other hand on his shoulder, feeling distinctly uncomfortable and awkward. Thorne led them in a slow waltz, neither of them saying anything. Cress made an effort to look at every person in the room but Thorne. She told herself it was because she was just too busy looking for Strom and that it had absolutely nothing to do with the handsome criminal she was slow dancing with. 

They ended up near the stage, still swaying in a circle. Thorne leaned down so only Cress could hear when he whispered, “So, it seems Strom isn’t on the dance floor. However, I found that this is the perfect vantage point to monitor the entrances into the room, so as long as we stay here and watch, we should be able to see when he enters.” 

Cress nodded. Of course she should have noticed it was the perfect stakeout position. By the stage, near two of the exits and with a clear shot of the third, it was perfect. Cress, however, was a bit distracted due to the pressure of Thorne’s hands on her back. 

The two were silent as they swayed on the dance floor. It only took a few minutes for Thorne to cave and start talking. “You know, I really don’t know that much about you.” 

“What?” Cress jumped, looking up at Thorne with wide eyes.

He let out a breathless laugh. “You know, for you being my wife and everything.” Thorne winked at her, and Cress involuntarily blushed. They kept turning in a slow circle. “You know almost everything about me. I figured it’s only fair to even the field.”

“I don’t know everything about you.” 

“But you know much more than I know about you.” 

Thorne spun Cress around once. “You’re a criminal,” Cress whispered the last word as she leaned in to him after the spin. “I’m not supposed to give out personal details to you.” 

Thorne scoffed. “I’m not talking stalker details. Just you know, friend type stuff.” 

“Friend stuff?” 

Thorne shrugged, causing Cress’s hand to rise and fall with his shoulders. “We are coworkers. I’m talking basic stuff. Favorite food, drink, generic get-to-know you things.” 

Cress looked past Thorne’s head, seeing band equipment being moved onto the stage. “Okay, it’s not like you having the information would be harmful to the mission.”

Thorne beamed. “Exactly.” 

“But,” Cress looked him back in the eyes. “I still don’t think it’s exactly fair you get to ask me all these questions while I don’t get to ask any back.” 

“Fine,” Thorne said, then paused for a moment. “Why don’t we play Five Ws?”

“Huh?” 

“It’s a game I used to play with friends in school. We get to ask five questions, each starting with one of the five W question words: who, what, when, where, and why.” Thorne spun Cress around again. “No follow-up questions. Answer honestly. And we’ll alternate who asks the question. You’re not allowed to ask about my criminal past since it wouldn’t be fair to me.”

Cress gave a small smile. “Deal.” 

“Perfect,” Thorne nodded at her, “You can go first, since you’re so keen on gaining all the information on me as possible.”

“Okay,” They kept swaying in a circle for a minute as Cress thought. “Who’s your favorite artist? Like, a painter not a musician. I already know you love Guardians of Rock.”

“Oh,” Thorne leaned his head back, then looked down at Cress. “Starting with the surface ones, huh? Well, I’ll have to go with Mozzie.”

Cress opened her mouth, ready to ask who he was, but Thorne stopped her. “Uh, uh, uh, remember? No follow-up questions.” Cress shut her mouth, giving Thorne a weak glare. He laughed, “Okay, fine, he’s a sculptor. He goes into abandoned warehouses or houses and sets up these spectacular exhibits. I went to one a long time ago that featured a life-size Zen garden. It was magnificent. Now my turn. Who’s your favorite Guardians of Rock member, since I know you are also a huge fan?”

“Liam Kinney,” Cress replied without hesitation.

Thorne stopped their slow circling to look at her. “Really, now? See, I didn’t peg you as a lead-singer type girl. Bassist maybe, but not lead singer.”

Cress shrugged, prompting them to continue dancing. “When I first started working at the record label, he was the first member of the group to notice and talk with me. I went on tour with them as their social media manager, and he would always invite me out to eat with the group and other staffers. I think that’s why he’s my favorite.” 

Thorne was staring at her, his mouth open. “You went on tour with them?!”

“Ah,” Cress smirked. “Remember the rule.” 

Thorne cursed. “Fine, fine, I’ll ask it some other time. And it’s your turn now.”

Cress laughed, “Okay. Um, I guess, what do you love about the Rampion ship so much?”

“Hm,” Thorne smiled. “Where to begin? Its glossy white exterior, its pristine plushy seats, its swiftness in traveling over the waves of a lake, the lady I painted on the interior floor…I could go on forever.”

“Besides, the lady,” Cress’s face scrunched up at the thought of the painting Cinder found in the military ship he stole. “You could find that in any high-quality military vessel. Why go for the Rampion?” Thorne stilled, looking off into the distance. He picked back up their dancing, but it took him a few moments to respond. When he did, his voice was lower, the jokiness aside, and Cress felt herself leaning in closer to him to hear what he had to say.

“My very first big heist, I was at my family’s house on Lake Tahoe. I had convinced the owners of a house across the lake that I was a lost tourist, and needed money to get myself back home. Being crazy rich, they readily handed over a wad of cash. However, as I was leaving, they caught me trying to pocket the art piece they had displayed in the entrance hall, which was my real target for the day. I ran outside to the harbor and hopped in the first boat I saw. It was this fancy jet ski thing, and way too complicated for me to hot wire. So, I went to the oldest looking boat, an out-of-date Rampion dumped there by some military family, and commandeered it. I sped off across the lake, ditching the Rampion at our neighbor’s house and stashing the loot under my bed. They never caught me thanks to the lucky getaway with the Rampion, and ever since that day, Rampions have always been my favorite vessel. So when I was old and wise enough, I made sure to acquire one for myself.” 

Thorne looked at Cress, his hand gripping hers. He blinked, then stepped back, losing his hold and putting more distance between the two. He gave a little laugh. “Well, there’s my long story. I guess it’s time for me to ask you a question.” 

Cress shook her head, drawing herself back into the present. “Oh, oh, right. Sure, uh, what is it?”

“Well, what is your favorite dessert?”

“Chocolate, I guess?” Cress said. “I don’t really know, I like all desserts.” 

Thorne just grinned at her, leading her in another twirl. “All right then, chocolate it is! And it’s your turn. When.” 

“Of course.” Cress looked away from him, over his shoulder. “When did you develop a love of the dramatics?”

Thorne gasped, unlocking their fingers and draping the free arm over his forehead. “Me? Dramatic? Never!” 

Cress laughed, “Practically every photo I have of you from a security camera is you winking at it. And you just spent fifteen minutes telling me how amazing the mini-cinnamon rolls are at Emilie Bakery.” 

“Fine, fine, that’s fair,” Thorne said, interlocking their hands once more. “In answer, we’ll have to look back into my childhood years. My parents left me alone most of the time, and there are two things a bored seven-year-old will do with an abundance of time: learn how to pick a lock—what?” Thorne asked, hearing Cress’s amused snort. 

She nodded, “Never mind, keep going.” 

“Well, I learned how to pick a lock, and I also watched a lot of action movies. You know, the classics: James Bond, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, ect. So maybe seven-year-old me developed some of the characteristics of the main protagonists in order to be like his role models. Just perhaps, maybe some of those tendencies and attitudes stuck around with him into his adult life, and some people,” At this, Thorne sent Cress a glare, but its impact was lessened by the grin accompanying it. “Call them dramatic.” 

“Everything makes so much more sense now,” Cress said.

“I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel offended or proud. I’m going with proud. Okay, my turn. When did you learn to hack and do all that computer magic stuff?”

Cress looked down, thinking. “When I was around seven I had a lot of time to myself too. Instead of learning to pick locks,” Cress glanced at Thorne, and he winked at her. She blushed. “I spent all my time on one of my orphanage’s computers, learning how it worked. It wasn’t long before I figured out how to break into banned websites. By then, I found the whole computer hacking thing kinda fun, and I just never stopped learning how to solve software problems on a computer.”

“You lived in an orphanage?” Thorne asked, his voice soft. He looked at her, but Cress wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“O-oh, well, um, hey, didn’t you say no follow-up questions?”

Thorne turned the two in a slow circle, replying, “Okay.” He didn’t pry, for which Cress was grateful.

“S-so where would you go if the world was ending?” she asked.

“Hm, I would probably raid the nearest grocery store, then run off into the sunset with my Rampion so the zombies couldn’t eat me.” Thorne stared at Cress, waiting for her reaction. She laughed, and the tension in his shoulders released. “C’mon, it’s a solid plan!” 

“I can’t disagree.”

“Thank you. Now, where is your favorite restaurant?” When Cress titled her head and blushed, Thorne added, “I’m new to this part of the city. You can’t fault a guy for trying to get some decent recommendations.”

“Oh, right. Rieux Taverns then. Their onion rings are to die for, and it’s only a couple blocks away from the office.” 

“Perfect, I’ll add it to the list.” The slow song changed to another slow song, and Thorne pulled Cress a little closer, moving them down the dance floor and nearer to the stage. Cress couldn’t help the slight blush. Seeing the ring on her left hand, which was currently being held by Thorne’s, didn’t help matters either. With the dress, the ring, the rich people surrounding them, and Thorne’s hand on her back, the night felt like a dream. If only Thorne wasn’t wearing that awful red wig.

“It’s your turn,” Thorne nudged her, pulling her away from her thoughts. “Last round, so make it a good one.” 

She didn’t know if it was the dream-like feeling of the evening or Thorne’s words that prompted Cress to ask the one question to which she really cared about the answer. “Why do you hate tech personnel so much?”

Thorne sucked in a breath. She felt it in the way his stomach contracted. It was a few moments before he answered, adverting his eyes from Cress. “I don’t hate them.” 

“You recoiled the first time you saw me.” 

“Hey, that was in shock. I was completely caught off guard that it was just you who pulled off all the computer magic to arrest me. Really, it was a complement to you. Honest.” 

Cress took a deep breath, “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“I know, I just—“ It was then Thorne looked in Cress’s eyes and saw the look on her face. Whatever he was about to say died on his lips. He whispered, “I’m kinda scared of you, okay?”

Cress stared at him in shock. 

“I’ve never really been technologically literate. I just, don’t understand it. It seems unnecessarily complicated when you could pull off the same con with just a simple bag of tools. And it doesn’t help that I can barely navigate around a smart phone, much less all those computer systems you know so well. So yeah, it scares me that you can pull up that much information on me without me being able to prevent it. It’s why I made it my mission to be as distrustful to tech personnel as possible.” After a few moments of silence, Thorne continued, looking Cress in the eye. “Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it does,” Cress replied. “Sorta, I mean, you’re scared of me? I’m like, the least scary person I know.”

Thorne let out a breathy laugh. “Yes, all five feet of you are absolutely terrifying.” The two continued dancing as they smiled at each other. 

“Thank you,” Cress started talking before she could second-guess herself. “Thank you for answering.” And she meant it. By the rules of the game, he had to answer, but Cress was not expecting the level of honesty in his voice. It was…nice. 

Thorne nodded, but didn’t reply, twirling Cress around the dance floor. It took a minute before he leaned in closer, his voice lowering to ask his last question, “Why are you here, doing this mission? I’m sure the FBI could have picked someone from a different squad to come as my date if necessary. You seemed hesitant to come, and you aren’t very experienced being in the field, yet you agreed anyway. Why?”

Her gaze immediately flitted to the ring on her finger, but she didn’t let it stay long, lest Thorne notice. That answer was a bit too honest. “Oh, uh yeah, but it would have been such trouble to go outside the squad and we were on a time crunch and I was right there so it was logical,” Cress rambled, desperately hoping her blush wasn’t that noticeable. “And it’s a pretty low-risk mission, all we are doing is talking to a target, plus it was kinda fun to get dressed up and go out. It’s a bit better of a break from the computer than just playing a couple rounds of mahjong.”

Thorne laughed, and Cress swore she could see his eyes twinkle. Or maybe that was just the light bouncing off the chandeliers behind him. Regardless, it did not help the blushing situation at all. Thorne looked around, “Yeah, I’d say this beats playing mahjong.”

“A little bit,” Cress replied, and Thorne grinned wider. “Plus since I spend practically all of my time at home or on the computer at work, so there’s no one here that could recognize me. It makes me a pretty perfect candidate to go undercover here, with all the cops that could recognize normal FBI agents.” 

“Makes sense,” Thorne stated. “Hey, watch out, you’re about to hit the stage,” Thorne gently tugged Cress to the right.

“Thanks,” Cress replied. “So the game is done?”

“It is,” Thorne nodded. They danced a few more steps before Thorne continued talking. “We could play it again, if you wanted to. Have to pass the time somehow, right?”

Cress looked up at him and smiled. “Right.” She was about to ask the first question when a voice coming from their left startled her into silence.

“Cress! Cress Darnel? Is that you?” 

…

Thorne couldn’t place the exact moment when he had stopped thinking about this as a mission and simply started dancing with Cress. Sure, he had started the whole Five Ws game as a way to gain information on her that he could use to get his Rampion. But somewhere in the middle, he had found himself wanting to know the answers—and not for blackmailing purposes. In fact, he quite enjoying the feeling of his hand in hers as they danced under the twinkling lights of the chandeliers and--

This was ridiculous. Those thoughts were off-limits. If Cinder ever caught wind of them, he would no doubt be thrown back to prison. That could not happen. He would rather die than drink prison coffee or use prison soap again. 

Thorne banished the thoughts about Cress from his brain as they danced. He needed a distraction, which is why he suggested another game of Five Ws. Yes, everything was working as planned until the voice called Cress’s name. 

The two turned toward the voice at the same time, and upon seeing who is was, Thorne’s jaw dropped. 

“Liam!” Cress said. And there,in dark skinny jeans and a purple leather jacket, stood Liam Kinney.

‘Liam’ Thorne mouthed. She was on a first name basis with the lead singer of the Guardians of Rock? Sure, he knew she worked for them, but still. What the aces. 

Never mind that. Why was he thinking about Cress when his rock star idol was standing just a few feet away! Also, what in the galaxy was the lead singer of the greatest rock band even doing here in the first place?

“Cress!” Liam Kinney came up and gave Cress a hug. Again, what the aces. She smiled and returned it, while Thorne stood to the side, completely and utterly stunned. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, just here on some work stuff,” Cress laughed, glancing back at Thorne. “But what about you? Why are you here?”

“Firehardened Co. asked us to play at the gala, start the after-party off. But that’s not important. How are you? I haven’t seen you since the incident with the record label. You just disappeared off the face of the earth! We always wondered where you went.” Kinney held Cress at arm’s length, looking her up and down. “Seems like the years have treated you well.”

Cress blushed, smiling and looking away. “I could say the same about you. I heard your latest album, it’s really good.”

“Thanks,” Kinney grinned at her, white teeth flashing. “Not as many people listened to this album as the previous ones. I think that has to do with how badly it was advertised. The new social media manager is terrible.” Kinney nudged her shoulder with his. 

“Oh, yeah?” Cress elegantly replied.

“Absolutely. The guys and I would take you back in a heartbeat if you need a job. We’re with a new label, so you shouldn’t be worried about anything happening again. We really miss you Cress.” Kinney winked at her.

Thorne was bewildered. Utterly astonished. 

Was Liam Kinney, lead singer of his favorite band, flirting with Cress? What was happening? Did he just wink at her? Winking was Thorne’s thing! 

“Oh,” he heard Cress reply. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

Liam pouted. “C’mon, it’s a great one! We’ll double your salary and vacation days, and you’ll get to spend even more time with us! We could really, really use you back on the GoR Team Cress.”

“I’m sorry but—“

“No buts! Whatever you want, will get it for you. Just please, come back and work as our social media manager.” 

Cress frowned, “I can’t—“

“I’m serious, I’m not letting you disappear again. The rest of the band will be so happy to know I’ve found you and that you’re coming back!”

This was so not what Thorne was hoping for when he finally met his favorite music group. Cinder had told him to make sure Cress didn’t get hurt, and this guy was definitely giving Thorne a bad feeling. 

Aces. He did not sign up to have his dreams about his favorite rock band crushed, but here he was. The things he did in order to not use prison soap again.

Thorne came up and slipped his arm around Cress’s waist. “Everything all right, sweetie?”

Cress’s eyes widened. “Y-yeah. Oh,” She looked back at Kinney, whose eyebrows were furrowed. 

Kinney stuck out a hand to Thorne. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m—“ 

“Liam Kinney, lead singer of GoR,” Thorne finished for him, shaking Kinney’s hand a bit harder than was necessary. “I’m a huge fan.” 

“Thanks,” Kinney replied. “And you are?”

Thorne couldn’t help the smirk that broke out on his face. “Harrison Vargas, and the husband to this beautiful lady right here.” Thorne squeezed Cress’s hip, and she let out a startled cry, her face red. 

Kinney choked and tried to cover it with a cough. Amateur. He turned to Cress, “You didn’t tell me you got married! And to Harrison Vargas of all people! How did this not end up plastered all over the media?”

“Well,” Thorne smiled down at Cress. At her worried expression, Thorne winked, and she nodded. “I met her on one of my travels, and we instantly fell in love. We couldn’t imagine a life without each other, so we eloped and had a small wedding. We’ve kept a low profile, not wanting to attract too much attention and make our lives a living hell with the press, which I’m sure you can understand.”

“That I can,” Kinney replied, looking between the two. Thorne just smirked, scanning the room while Kinney continued to look at Cress. Maybe Thorne could convince Cress to head back to the buffet table? The line didn’t look too long. He kept looking, when something caught his eye across the room that made his blood run cold.

“Well—“ Kinney started, but Thorne didn’t let him get any farther.

“I’m sorry, it was lovely meeting you, but my darling and I need to get going.” Before Cress could protest, Thorne had steered her away from Kinney and back on the dance floor. 

“Mr. Thorne!” Cress turned on Thorne, keeping her voice low. “What is going on?”

“I just saw Strom. It’s time to go catch the bad guy.”


	7. The Gala, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it!

"Darling," Thorne drawled, wrapping an arm around Cress's waist. "Don't you think it's about time we left this gala behind? Because as beautiful as you look in that dress, I can't wait to see how beautiful you look without it."

Cress was pretty sure she was on the verge of melting into a puddle. This was so far from what she had expected her first in-the-field job to be. She tried to not let her face get too red, casting a glance back at the guard to the parking garage. She was still on the job, Cress reminded herself for the hundredth time since Thorne had dragged her away from Liam Kinney to follow Strom.

Thorne looked down at Cress, as if expecting her to respond to his comment. But honestly, how in the galaxy could she respond to that?! There was no protocol in the FBI handbook for how to deal with when your criminal fake-husband makes suggestive comments to you in order to fool a guard so you could follow a murderer.  
Cress took a deep breath in and out. She was an FBI agent. She was a super good hacker. She was a genius. She could do this.

Cress bumped her hip with Thorne's. His eyes widened in surprise as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Cress turned her attention to the guard. "Please, sir. We're here now. It would just be ridiculous to call in a valet to get our car." Not to mention, they didn't even have a car to get out of this garage. But the guard didn’t need to know that. 

The guard glanced warily between the two. Cress looked up at Thorne, trying to imitate Kai's face whenever he looked at Cinder. It must have worked, because she heard Thorne gulp.

He addressed the guard. "Sir, please. It's not like we'll wreck any cars or anything. We just would like to head back to our vehicle so we can get the after-party started, if you know what I mean." Thorne proceeded to wink. Cress proceeded to redden.

The guard uncrossed his arms, "Fine. But if I hear wind of any damage to the property, I won't hesitate to release your little marriage scandal to the media."

Thorne nodded solemnly, "Understood. Thank you." The guard moved aside, allowing Cress and Thorne access to the parking garage behind him. As soon as the door slammed shut, Cress and Thorne broke into a run.

Thorne huffed, "Stupid Strom, playing that my-wife-is-pregnant card. I thought that guard was never going to let us through."

"I know," Cress agreed, searching around the garage. "Do you think Strom's already gone?"

"He shouldn't be. It wasn't that long."

"And you are sure it's Strom, right? It's not actually a guy whose wife is going into labor?"

"Yes Cress, I'm sure. I know I didn't get as good of a look at the photos of him as you did, but I know I recognized this guy's face. It has to be Strom."

"Okay," Cress replied, bending down to glance under a truck. No luck. Thorne and Cress were running up the ramp onto the second level when an engine roar thundered through the garage.

"Strom," Thorne and Cress said together, stopping a minute to look at each other.

"He's on the roof," Thorne panted.

"Then up we go," Cress responded, and the two broke into a run again. There was a squeal of tires, and they started running even faster.

"Why," Thorne said between strides and gulps of air. "Did he choose the roof? My perfectly-sculpted body was not—" Breath. "Prepared for this."

"Criminals aren't convenient," Cress said, her chest rapidly rising and falling as they continued their run up to the roof.

Thorne scoffed, then choked breathing in another gulp of air. "Very aware of that fact. They're terrible to try and make a deal with."

Cress shot Thorne a side-glance. "Should I be alarmed? Report that statement to Cinder?"

Thorne let out a pitiful laugh thanks to his exhaustion. "Nah, I'm one of the nice ones. You can trust me."

"Sure," Cress sighed, and the two rounded the corner to the roof. Thorne didn't have time to respond, however, because Cress was already drawing the gun hidden in her boot. The two stepped out onto the roof and moved forward, shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Cress," Thorne whispered. "Do you see anyone?"

"No," Cress sighed. There was no sign of anyone running, just a bunch of parked cars. "Where could Strom have gone in his vehicle? We didn't pass any cars coming down, so Strom couldn't have already escaped."

They kept walking across the roof and Cress shivered. It was just her luck it had to be an open-aired roof. Thorne made his way to one of the edges, peering over into the street below. Cress joined him, frowning as he stated, "Street's empty down there too. Just a parked delivery van."

"Cinder and Iko, probably."

Thorne turned toward her, "Hey, speaking of, should we alert them to what's going on? Get backup?"

Cress shook her head, "Not until we know it's Strom and that he actually committed a crime, besides running away from the party. Plus, anyway, they should be listening   
to our audio, so they'll know when to intervene."

"Fair enough," Thorne stated. "You know, we've done a lot more chasing and searching for this guy that I thought we would. It's not nearly as cool as what happens in movies. Man, this would have been so much cooler if it was a movie. I'll be the suave protagonist and you'll be my charmingly sexy coconspirator."

Cress hiccupped. "Yeah, but if this was a movie, you would have already swept me up into a kiss on this rooftop by now."

Thorne wiggled his eyebrows, then winked. "The night's still young," he replied smoothly.

Cress had to take a moment to remind herself to breathe, and that this was all most definitely a strange fever dream. Made it much easier to comprehend.

Suddenly, bright lights flashed, and Cress grabbed Thorne on instinct, shoving them against the railing of the roof. Cress blinked several times, and when her vision came back into focus, she found Thorne and herself surrounded by a circle of black SUVs. She could hear footsteps fading into the distance. All the SUVs appeared to be empty, except for one.

Out of the backseat of one of the SUVs stepped a large, hairy man. Immediately, Cress pointed her gun at him. He was huge, like a bodybuilder on steroids. He was growling, and Cress could see sharpened teeth. And—wait, were those claws?? It was terrifying. But despite the obvious gain of muscle mass and terrifying-ness ability, his face still looked familiar, and Cress shivered. This was really, really bad.

"Cress," Thorne whispered, his arms wrapped around her waist. Just for protection, of course. "Who is that?"

"Strom, definitely Strom," Cress replied, not taking her eyes off the hulking man quickly coming closer to the entrapped duo.

"No way. That's not the guy I saw in the gala."

"I don't know who you saw, but it wasn't Strom. This is Strom."

"Okay, whatever you say," Thorne said, letting it drop. "Hey, any ideas about how— "

"Quiet!" Strom growled. He pointed a shaking finger at Cress. "Drop the gun now!" Cress held her hands up, trying to remember all the in-the-field FBI protocol she had   
learned. This was much more terrifying than sitting behind a computer. They needed a way out, and fast.

"I said drop it!" Strom growled again, and Cress did as he asked, emptying the cartridge at her feet and dropping the unloaded gun on the floor. "Now," he said, stalking even closer to the duo. "Who are you?"

Thorne hugged Cress closer to him, and Cress gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Her worst nightmare and best dream all wrapped up together, and it was absolutely horrible to live through. Strom's eyes tracked her movement, alighting on the wedding ring.

"Mrs. Carswell Thorne?" Strom let out a howl of laughter. "An FBI Agent and a criminal mastermind? What kind of love story have I stumbled upon here!"

Cress glanced up at Thorne, waiting for him to say something about the marriage. But he was staring at Strom in shock.

"How do you know who I am?" Thorne asked.

Strom chuckled, making the hairs on Cress's arms raise. "Of course we know who you are. You're our target for the night. We were here for you."

Thorne's eyebrows drew together. "No, we're here for you, Strom."

Strom cracked his knuckles. "Change of plans. We'll take you, and I'll kill your wife."

Thorne hummed, but Cress could feel him shaking. Or maybe that was just her. She glanced over, noticing the parked cars surrounding them. She needed a distraction,   
something to occupy Strom long enough for the two of them to break through the car circle and run to safety. "Not sure I like those plans. Care to change them?"

"I don't think so." Storm was alarmingly close, and Cress and Thorne backed up until they hit the railing. Distraction, what was in arms reach that could provide a   
distraction…or help start one. Cress bit her lip.

"Wait!" Cress yelled. "Before-before you k-kill me, can't you at least let us say goodbye? We went through so much to be together. We can't end it like this." Cress finished her speech with a hiccup and tears, which weren't faked at all.

Strom didn't seem to buy it, wiping his hands on his chest. The claws Cress had seen earlier were found to be just really long, sharpened fingernails, which was still pretty gross. But that was the least of Cress's concerns at the moment.

"Please, please sir!" Cress squeaked out. "Just give us a few moments, to say good-bye!"

Strom let out a growl. "Why should I—," he started, but a loud beep sounded, and Strom's whole body shivered. He tugged on the collar of his shirt. "You have one minute." Cress just saw Strom reach into his pocket and pull out a syringe before she turned around in Thorne's arms, grabbing Thorne's tie and using that and his shock to turn him around. The move effectively shielded her from Strom's view, and she pulled Thorne closer to her, her back against the railing.

Thorne's brows furrowed, a question on his lips. Cress could feel her heart beating roughly against her chest, but this was no time to think about her crush or about what she was going to have to ask him to do. She was an FBI agent, and she needed to get them both out of there safely. And if this was the only option, well, Cress was just going to have to live with it. Or perhaps not spontaneously combust because of it. She was theoretically married to him after all.

Cress stared up at him, their bodies pressed together, and proceeded to rip his shirt off.

Thorne jerked back instantly, his voice rising an octave. "Cress! Wha—"

"Shh," Cress responded in a whisper. "Trust me." Without noticing his finely sculpted abs, Cress located the recording device strapped to his chest. Her own recording device was hidden in her bra. It was much faster to get to the one on Thorne’s chest. Or so she thought. She wasn’t going to test the theory, not when she was inches away from the toned wall of muscle that was Thorne’s abdomen. 

She took the device, sliding the back panel off and grabbing one of the batteries in it. She reached up into her hair, plucking one of the many bobby pins Iko had stuck in it earlier. She began to hack away at one end of battery with it. 

Thorne, meanwhile, had caught on, leaning his arms on the railing next to Cress's head, even more effectively blocking her from view. "So," Thorne said, his voice low and way, way too close.

"Make it look like we're saying goodbye," Cress responded. Her voice even managed to not shake, for which she was very grateful.

She felt Thorne gulp, her focus still on the battery. She peeled off the outer layer around the end, trying to pry the bobby pin into the metal disk on the end. Then she froze, as she felt Thorne lean in even closer and reach up into the back of her head, undoing her hair style.

"What?" Thorne whispered, Cress feeling his breath on her cheek. "We're married. Our goodbye isn't just going to consist of words."

"R-right," Cress breathed out.

"So, what's the plan?"

Cress lifted the battery, feeling it grow slightly warm as she pried off the metal protective piece. "A lighter, so we can set one of these cars on fire and distract Strom long   
enough to get away."

"Brilliant," Thorne grinned, trailing his right hand down Cress's left arm. She shivered, the skin tingling wherever he touched. She had to keep it together. They were in a life-and-death situation. How it felt to be held by Carswell Thorne was by far not important right now. Cress recovered the end of the battery with the metal piece, bending the bobby pin around the bulk of the battery.

Thorne continued, "How are you going to light the car on fire?"

"Drop the battery in the gas tank."

"Won't work. The flame will extinguish before it reaches the gas." Thorne held her left hand in his, then slipped her ring off and placed it into his pocket. "Luckily, I've got a solution."

Behind them, they could hear Strom pacing, and they inched closer together. Cress actually couldn't believe she was this close to shirtless Carswell Thorne whom she had undressed! 

Field work was much, much more stressful than she ever could have imagined.

Cress reached up on her tiptoes to speak in his ear, causally slipping her hand into his pocket and dropping the battery with the bobby pin in it. "Don't stick the bobby pin under the metal piece until you're ready for a flame. And don't touch the liquid inside. It's corrosive and will burn your skin off."

"Good to know, Genius Computer Woman," Thorne whispered in her ear, his voice low. "Now, hands around my neck."

"Wha-" And before Cress could get out any words, Thorne was kissing her. Cress's eyes fluttered closed, and her arms wound around his neck, less from Thorne's command and more out of instinctual reaction. Stars, was he a good kisser.

After only a moment, Thorne pulled away, his forehead resting on hers. He took a deep breath in, blinking several times. Then he winked, "Had to get your lipstick smudged somehow."

"O-oh," Cress replied, wide-eyed. "Of course." And as if her night couldn't get any weirder, Thorne kept on talking.

"That was, ah, the most effective way I could think of doing it."

"Right."

"Please don't kill me. Or like internet murder me."

"Uhh…"

His eyes furrowed, "Cinder is going to kill me, isn't she?"

"Uh-huh."

It was in that moment the two remembered Strom was still there, as he grabbed Thorne's shoulder and yanked him backwards.

Cress didn't even have a moment to cry out before Strom swiped across her stomach with his sharp nails. She felt the fabric rib and blood welling up. Cress looked up into Strom's face, noticing his glazed eyes, shaking hands, and terrifying grin.  
…  
Thorne was not used to playing the role of action movie hero. Did he dream about it? Of course. But when adopting a career as a criminal mastermind, the word hero tended to fly out the window. There was no doubt that Thorne played off the suave, dashing, unattainably sexy criminal mastermind with flair that would rival said hero, but it wasn't often he was able to actually act like one.

If there was ever that moment, however, it was then, as Thorne thought through his options, the (surprisingly amazing) kiss with Cress still fresh in his mind. Like seriously, where did she learn to kiss like that? Thorne was fairly sure his heart shouldn't be beating this fast, but that was probably just adrenaline from being pushed by Strom. 

From his vantage point, Thorne watched as Strom cut through Cress's stomach. Before he could run over and tackle Strom, Thorne saw Cress's knee go up and kick him in the gut. It was enough time for Cress to duck out from under his arm, jab the backside of his knees, forcing Strom to fall.

"Thorne, the lighter now!" Cress yelled over to him, clutching her stomach. He had half a mind to run to her and help slow the bleeding, as he could already see Strom recovering and coming after her again.

The only way to end this was to complete the plan, no matter how awful it felt to leave Cress. She was handling herself just fine, Thorne reminded himself as he ran to the nearest car, she could survive thirty seconds more.

Feeling more like an action movie character than ever, Thorne slid under the car, his ripped shirt fluttering around him. He took the wedding ring out of his pocket, sliding over the diamond to release the razor blade he had hidden in there for emergencies. It only took him a few seconds to locate the fuel line of the car. He cut it with the razor blade ring, then scooted out from under the car as gas began to pool underneath. Thorne got out the battery and the bobby pin, sticking the pin under the metal and into the liquid center of the battery until a flame appeared. With a last wish of luck, Thorne threw the flaming battery into the gas and ran. He started running faster as he saw Strom towering over Cress as she laid on the ground, cradling her stomach.

Aces.

He would take a Kinney catastrophe any day over this kind of danger. If Strom killed Cress, there was absolutely no way he would be able to work for the FBI ever again.

Without another thought, Thorne slid in front of Cress, just as Strom's massive clawed hand came down to deliver the final blow. Instead, Strom hit Thorne's tracker watch, shattering it. Thorne staggered, holding the newly freed wrist close to his chest. Strom howled, going back for another kill shot, and Thorne grabbed one of the plastic pieces, shoving it into Strom's leg. It was enough to distract the hulking man for a moment.

And in it, Thorne realized that he could run. Cress couldn't stop him, his tracker was gone, and the incoming explosion would distract Strom long enough for Thorne to disappear.

Thorne took another look at the car, seeing the fire growing higher and higher. Cress was still on the ground, unable to move and close enough to the impending explosion to get seriously hurt.

So instead of running, he huddled Cress in his arms, trying to forget the pain in his wrist, running them away from the car and the growling Strom as fast as he could. He felt Cress holding onto him, could feel her blood seeping out of her stomach wounds, covering his chest.

It was only moments later when the explosion happened, and Thorne dropped, holding Cress in his arms and protecting her from the worst of the debris.  
…

"Has Cress replied yet?" Iko asked, brushing crumbs off her bulletproof FBI vest.

"No," Cinder replied, stacking up their (many) cupcake wrappers on the table in front of them. "Hopefully they've found Strom and are questioning him. We'll still be able to record audio from Cress and Thorne even if we can't hear them, right?"

"Yes. Cress had all audio received from the night immediately backed up onto her work computer. No scrambling device will be able to break the connection."

"Perfect," Cinder said. "Tomorrow we can run over the recording with them, see if they picked up on any nonverbal clues."

"Sounds good," Iko replied, yawning. "How much longer do you think we'll be out here?"

Cinder smiled at her friend, taking another sip of her coffee. "Surely long enough to have another cupcake."

Iko laughed, already reaching for the half empty box. "That's my kind of time keeping."

A note rang out from Cinder's phone as she grabbed the chocolate cupcake passed to her. She frowned, opening the screen and reading the message.

"What's up?" Iko asked, unwrapping her cupcake.

"An alert from Thorne's tracker. It's been tampered with."

"What? How?"

"No idea, but we're going to find out." The two agents grabbed their guns, cupcakes forgotten, as they rushed out of the van.

Iko glanced over at her friend, "Where's the location of the tracker now?"

"That's the strange thing. It doesn't say. Whenever I try to load the location, it gives me an error message."

"What could cause that?"

"Nothing good," Cinder muttered, walking faster.

And that was when the explosion hit. The two stopped, watching a ball of fire erupt from the roof of a nearby garage.

"Stars. Stars. Stars." Cinder cursed, and the two broke into a full-on sprint. 

Everything then seemed to happen in fast motion. Iko dialed the other agents and local police who were on standby, only to find they were already on their way. Cinder   
dialed Cress again and again, always going to voicemail. They rushed up onto the roof, only to find Thorne and Cress curled up together, a horde of paramedics rushing around them.

"CRESS!" Iko screamed as the paramedics lifted her from Thorne's arms.

Cress glanced toward Iko and Cinder, her eyes filling with relief. She said something, but it was too faint for them to hear. By the time they made it over, Cress was already being lifted into an ambulance. Cinder nodded, and Iko went to ride to the hospital with her.

She reached Thorne, who was being checked over by the paramedics. "Mr. Thorne! Are you okay? What happened? Where's your tracker?"

Thorne grimaced. "Long story Agent Linh. But—"

"We need to get him to the hospital immediately," interrupted one of the paramedics. "His back will need medical attention, and his wrist as well."

Cinder's attention darted to his bare wrist, which was now twice it's normal size. She sucked in a breath. "Of course. Take him to get care ASAP." The paramedics nodded, and began taking Thorne to another nearby ambulance.

"No! Agent Linh, you need to get Strom! He did this!"

Cinder's head whipped around. "What?"

Thorne pointed a distance away, where Cinder could see a hulking figure slowly crawling away. Cinder met Thorne's eyes. "Meet me at the hospital?"

"Of course." Cinder ran, taking a paramedic with her. Once she reached Strom, he growled, trying to shrug away from the handcuffs. However, Cinder was able to subdue him, arresting him and sending him away in an ambulance. With a police escort, of course.

Several hours, many coffee cups, and lots of thoughts later, Cinder found herself in Thorne's hospital room.

"Agent Linh," He grinned when she walked in. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

"How are you doing Mr. Thorne?"

"Well, the hand soap in this place is also atrocious, so not well, thank you for asking."

Cinder rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help a small grin. "I meant your injuries."

"Oh," Thorne waved her off with the hand currently wrapped up. "Those are nothing. Doc said I'll be back and more devilishly handsome than ever in a few days."

"Naturally."

Thorne winked, grinning. A moment later, his face sobered. "Hey, have you seen Cress? How's she doing?"

"Fine," Cinder nodded. "The cuts on her stomach are surface injuries, but the doctors want to keep her here for a bit longer, make sure there isn't any infection."

Thorne looked away from Cinder. "Glad to hear she's okay."

"Me too," Cinder sighed, watching Thorne. "Speaking of, I actually came here to thank you."

Thorne's eyebrows raised. Cinder continued on, "You know, I kept thinking about the timeline. I couldn't help but notice the amount of time between when your tracker   
was broken and when the explosion happened; there was ample room for you to run off and disappear. You could be in the Bahamas right now for all we know. But you didn't run. You stayed and helped Cress, protecting her from the explosion."

At Cinder's words, Thorne looked down, playing with the ends of the bedsheet. "It's not a big deal, Agent Linh."

"No, it is. You sacrificed a chance at freedom to help a fellow agent. You helped save one of my friends today, and I won't forget that."

Thorne let out a little chuckle. "Looks like all the FBI has rubbed off a little bit on me." Cinder stepped closer to where Thorne sat, holding her hand out for a hand shake.

"Seriously, thank you, Thorne." Thorne shook her proffered hand, confusion spreading over his face.

Thorne gasped. "Did you just call me Thorne, Agent Linh?"

“Yes,” Cinder smiled, shaking her head. “And you can drop the title. You've earned it."

Thorne grinned, "Cinder it is."


End file.
